The Supreme Court assured it would go the “extra mile” to finalise AIFF’s draft constitution and strengthen Indian football. It also pressed AIFF and FSDL to resolve the ISL deadlock threatening clubs’ survival.
New Delhi: On August 28, the Supreme Court of India stated that the country has “excellent talent” in football and assured that it would go the “extra mile” to ensure the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) draft constitution is finalized soon for the overall improvement of the sport.
A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi stressed that the judiciary, football authorities, and other stakeholders must join hands to build a stronger future for Indian football.
The bench remarked,
“We want the things to move on. This is an extraordinary moment. All of us are cooperating, India has excellent talent. We will go an extra mile and ensure that things are put in place,”
while also noting that several coaches have assessed that the skills of Indian youngsters match global standards.
Amicus curiae and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan informed the bench that FIFA had sent a letter giving an October 30 deadline for the AIFF to obtain a final order approving its revised constitution and making sure it complies with FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rules.
However, the bench made it clear that FIFA’s intervention does not affect the court. The judges observed that the international football body cannot dictate terms to the Indian judiciary.
The draft constitution, which was prepared under the supervision of former Supreme Court judge L. Nageswara Rao, has suggested major reforms in the governance of Indian football.
Some of the key reforms include limiting the tenure of AIFF office-bearers to 12 years, introducing a four-year cooling-off period after eight years in office, and disqualifying anyone above 70 years of age from contesting elections or holding office. The Supreme Court had earlier reserved its verdict on finalising this draft.
The apex court is also hearing another big issue connected to Indian football — the AIFF’s ongoing dispute with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) regarding the non-renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA).
This deadlock has already brought the Indian Super League (ISL) to a standstill. On August 18, the Supreme Court agreed to take up this matter after several ISL clubs warned that without a resolution, they faced the
“real possibility of shutting down entirely.”
In a strongly worded letter sent to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, 11 ISL clubs, including Bengaluru FC, Hyderabad FC, Kerala Blasters, FC Goa, Chennaiyin FC, and Mumbai City FC, said the situation had forced them to stop their daily operations, delay or halt player and staff salaries, and risk the future of Indian football. Notably, Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal did not sign this letter.
The clubs wrote that over the last 10 years they had invested heavily in building youth academies, developing infrastructure, and running community programmes to improve India’s football image worldwide.
But the uncertainty over the league now threatens to undo all these efforts. They further warned that this deadlock could have a serious impact on India’s preparations for AFC and FIFA tournaments, since the suspension of the ISL could even make Indian clubs ineligible for major continental competitions.
During the hearing, the AIFF informed the Supreme Court that it had already started an “open, competitive and transparent” tender process to appoint a new commercial partner to run the ISL, following international best practices.
The bench has scheduled September 1 as the next date to hear detailed submissions from all parties involved.
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