Football, also known as soccer, is a family of team sports which has grown over the years to become one of the most popular team sports in the world. With the rise in the popularity of the sport and the increasing need for regulation for international fixtures at the beginning of the 20th century, there was a strong need for a single body to oversee the sport. Initially, founded on 21st May 1904 in Paris by the national associations of 8 European countries, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was expanded beyond Europe over the years. Over the years, FIFA has become the governing body of world football.
In India, football has always been among the top- 3 most popular sports alongside cricket and kabaddi. The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) founded on 23rd June 1937, is the governing body of football in India under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It has an affiliation with FIFA and was one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as well as the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The AIFF’s affiliation with FIFA dates back to the year 1948, one year post independence. In the same year, the national team was officially formed that participated in its first ever official tournament- the 1948 Summer Olympics!
In October 2017, India hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup which was the first and the only FIFA event hosted by the country. The tournament was the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup in terms of crowd and its turnout, with 1.3 million people attending the event, surpassing China’s 1985 edition which had an audience of 1.2 million.
FIFA’s Ban on AIFF
Recently, the tussle between FIFA and AIFF has been a hot debate and has grabbed the attention of the public. On 15th August 2022, FIFA suspended the AIFF on the grounds of ‘Third-party Interference’. The reason behind the ban was the interference from the Committee of Administrators (CoA) appointed by the court in Indian Football. FIFA wanted the AIFF administration to be fully in charge of the AIFF’s daily affairs and management, with the working to be in line with the requirements of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The ban was later lifted on 27th August 2022, owing to the changes implemented by the Indian Government.
If the ban was not lifted the major consequences the country would have to face would be that, India would lose its hosting rights of any future football world cup and the Indian teams would not be able to play even friendly international matches around the world. A detailed description of the consequences is listed below:
1. The U-17 FIFA Women’s World Cup which is to be hosted by India in October 2022 was at stake until the ban on AIFF was lifted.
2. The Indian Senior Men’s Football team which has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 would not be able to take part in the tournament if the suspension wasn’t reversed in time.
3. Gokulam Kerala was removed from the AFC Women’s Club Championships following the ban despite qualifying for the tournament.
4. The participation of ATK Mohan Bagan in the AFC inter-zone playoffs semifinals held on September 7th was earlier kept on hold.
5. The participation of the U-17 boys’ team in the Asian Cup 2023 was also at stake as the qualifying matches were scheduled for October this year.
6. Even though domestic football tournaments could be held, the same would not be recognized by the FIFA or AFC.
Post the ban, the Supreme Court of India requested the Union of India to take proactive measures to resolve the issue, and ensure that the women’s U17 world cup be held in India only. Lifting the suspension on AIFF was a top priority. In response to the ban, the central government approached the Supreme Court seeking an end to the mandate of CoA as emphasized by FIFA. This was seen as an attempt by the government to restore relationships with the world governing body. Finally, a day after the government moved the application, the CoA was disbanded by the Supreme Court to get the suspension by FIFA revoked. The court handed back the daily management to the AIFF administration while modifying its earlier orders. The AIFF’s administration and management will now be conducted by a duly elected body and not by a third party i.e., CoA.
After the changes were implemented by the government and with most of the conditions of FIFA being fulfilled, the suspension was lifted within a short span of 11 days. The election for the AIFF Board finally began on 2nd September 2022 where Kalyan Chaubey was elected as the President, and Nalapad Ahmed Haris as the Senior Vice President.
Since the Ban has been lifted by FIFA, India will now be hosting the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in October 2022, which will be the second FIFA event to be hosted by India. In the span of just 6 years, India will have hosted two FIFA events. No such event has ever been hosted by India, earlier. This shows the rise of the sport in India. Despite the ban on the Indian Association, the issue was resolved and the relationship was restored with FIFA quickly. The future of Indian football looks promising with the rise of interest among the youth. As citizens of India, we are all looking forward to seeing the Indian Football Team play at the FIFA World Cup.
Written by- Nasha Rana
Edited by- Kushi Mayur
