The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is facing scrutiny from FIFA over the delay in adopting its new constitution. In a letter dated June 22, FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) expressed concern that they had not received an update from AIFF since July 31, 2023, and requested a response by July 5.
AIFF responded, stating that the matter is currently sub-judice, meaning it is being considered by the Supreme Court of India. However, FIFA-AFC emphasized that the AIFF Congress, as the supreme legislative body of the federation, should have the authority to amend statutes without judicial intervention.
The FIFA-AFC letter refers to a meeting held on May 16, 2023, where AIFF was asked to provide an update on the new constitution. This followed a Supreme Court order appointing former Justice Nageswara Rao to oversee the drafting process. Rao submitted the draft statutes to the court on July 31, 2023, but the matter has since been delayed due to objections from stakeholders.
AIFF has stated that the Supreme Court granted stakeholders the opportunity to file objections to the draft constitution. However, the federation’s objections were initially excluded from the compilation by the court-appointed Amicus Curiae. AIFF was subsequently allowed to file its objections on March 19, 2024.
The delay in adopting the new constitution has raised concerns about AIFF’s compliance with FIFA and AFC statutes. AIFF was suspended by FIFA in August 2022 for third-party influence, but the ban was lifted after the federation held elections in September 2022.
FIFA and AFC have reiterated that AIFF’s constitution must be in line with their statutes and approved by the AIFF general body without any interference from third parties. The ongoing legal proceedings and objections from stakeholders have prevented AIFF from finalizing and adopting the new constitution.
