The draft of the new constitution of the All India Football Federation has been submitted before the Supreme Court for approval. It has been prepared by the Committee of Administrators (CoA). The AIFF said in a statement on Saturday that it was presented in the apex court on Friday. AIFF acting general secretary Sunando Dhar said, “After lengthy discussions with various stakeholders, the draft constitution of AIFF has finally been submitted to the court.
“I would like to congratulate everyone involved in this process, and hope that with the new constitution, we can go ahead with the development of Indian football,” Dhar said.
The CoA was appointed by the apex court on May 18 this year, comprising Justice (retd) Anil R Dave, former Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr SY Qureshi and former India captain Bhaskar Ganguly. The top court had directed the CoA to prepare the electoral rolls with a view to facilitate adoption of the Constitution and conduct the AIFF elections at the earliest.
The CoA has worked for over 150 hours to prepare the constitution and has spoken to all stakeholders of AIFF including state associations, FIFA, AFC, ISL and I-League clubs and considered suggestions. Three days ago, the COA sent the final draft of the constitution to FIFA.
The FIFA-AFC team had set a strict deadline for this. After this, the COA has worked fast and prepared the constitution. A few days back, the Supreme Court had removed the AIFF’s Praful Patel-led government for not holding elections on time. Qureshi said, “After much deliberation, we have finally drawn up a constitution that will make AIFF in line with the National Sports Code, as well as help us function efficiently as a member association of FIFA and AFC. I am confident that with these changes the federation will now be in a better position to take Indian football forward.”
Justice Dave said, “We have taken into account all the stakeholders involved in Indian football and their respective important views on the newly-formed Constitution. We also got some suggestions from football lovers across the country and studied them closely and seriously. I wish I want all parties to participate because we are all trying to take this game forward in India.”
Former India goalkeeper and captain Ganguly applauded everyone for drafting the constitution in such a short time. He said “The amount of work that has been done in the drafting of the Constitution is truly commendable and I sincerely thank all those involved in making it happen. We hope that with these new changes, football in our country is more than ever before. Will go further.”
The final draft of the constitution was also submitted to the state associations, which were represented in the discussion by a seven-member committee.
On 23 June, the FIFA-AFC team set a deadline for changes to Indian football, asking stakeholders to ratify the national federation’s constitution by 31 July and hold elections by 15 September. Failure to do so could result in a ban on the country.
The FIFA ban would mean that the Women’s Under-17 World Cup, to be held from October 11 to 30, could be held at a different location. The next date of hearing of the Supreme Court on this matter is July 21. Once the Supreme Court gives the green signal, the special general body meeting of the AIFF is expected to be convened with seven days to approve the new constitution. The elections will be held within 30 days of the approval of the new constitution in the general body of the AIFF.
Expansion
The draft of the new constitution of the All India Football Federation has been submitted before the Supreme Court for approval. It has been prepared by the Committee of Administrators (COA). The AIFF said in a statement on Saturday that it was presented in the apex court on Friday. AIFF acting general secretary Sunando Dhar said, “After lengthy discussions with various stakeholders, the draft constitution of AIFF has finally been submitted to the court.
“I would like to congratulate everyone involved in this process, and hope that with the new constitution, we can go ahead with the development of Indian football,” Dhar said.
The CoA was appointed by the apex court on May 18 this year, comprising Justice (retd) Anil R Dave, former Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr SY Qureshi and former India captain Bhaskar Ganguly. The top court had directed the CoA to prepare the electoral rolls with a view to facilitate adoption of the Constitution and conduct the AIFF elections at the earliest.
The CoA has worked for over 150 hours to prepare the constitution and has spoken to all stakeholders of AIFF including state associations, FIFA, AFC, ISL and I-League clubs and considered suggestions. Three days ago, the CoA sent the final draft of the constitution to FIFA.
The FIFA-AFC team had set a strict deadline for this. After this, the COA has worked fast and prepared the constitution. A few days back, the Supreme Court had removed the AIFF’s Praful Patel-led government for not holding elections on time.
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