The much-delayed National Sports Governance Bill, 2025 is likely to be tabled in the Parliament on Wednesday. The bill is looking to create a foundation for good governance in the National Sports Federations (NSFs). Further, the government will also table a reworked National Anti-Doping Amendment Bill.AdvertisementThe anti-doping bill was passed in 2022 but could not be implemented as the World Anti-Doping Agency raised objections over the formation of the National Board for Anti-Doping.Importantly, the bill seeks to set up the National Sports Board, a regulatory body that would have the power to grant recognition or suspend recognition of an NSF. Interestingly, sports ministry sources have confirmed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will also have to abide by this bill.BCCI has long opposed coming under any regulations of the government claiming it does not take government funds. “All sports federations are to be included in this bill. Cricket has been included in the LA 2028 Olympics so it is already part of the Olympics movement,” said a source.The formation of the board has been opposed by a few sports federations and even by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha.“In its current form the proposed Sports Regulatory Authority is granted extensive powers to control and regulate the functioning of these bodies and it will be perceived as infringing upon the autonomy of IOA and NSFs. This may lead to a conflict between the government and international sports governance bodies, particularly the IOC, which has previously suspended many National Olympic committees for excessive governmental interference,” Usha had said in her response when the draft was first circulated.However, the sports ministry has clarified that all the clauses have been incorporated with consultations with many international federations, including FIFA.Further, the bill also seeks to create a sports tribunal to deal with all the court cases in sports bodies, especially when elections are called. “We have been flooded with cases. People who want to control federations get favourable verdicts from high courts and that delays the entire cases. This tribunal will end all this as we have seen the high courts hand out different judgments in the same cases. All such cases will be handled by the tribunal and the appeal will only be handled by the Supreme Court,” the source added.
Ministry to table Sports Bill, anti-doping bill in Parliament
