MUMBAI: The three men manning the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators overseeing the running of the All India Football Federation cannot claim to not have been forewarned. The AIFF on Tuesday joined the “august company” of national governing bodies that have been suspended by FIFA.
The Bureau of the FIFA Council unanimously decided Tuesday to suspend the AIFF “with immediate effect due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes”.
According to FIFA statutes, member federations must be free from legal and political interference in their respective countries.
FIFA made clear that the AIFF would remain suspended as long as the CoA continued to run the AIFF. As per a FIFA declaration: “The suspension will be lifted once an order to set up a committee of administrators to assume the powers of the AIFF Executive Committee has been repealed and the AIFF administration regains full control of the AIFF’s daily affairs.”
Critically, the suspension means that India’s hosting rights of the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 have been rescinded, but also that Indian teams will no longer be entitled to take part in international competitions.
FIFA further declared: “The suspension means that the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022, scheduled to take place in India on 11-30 October 2022, cannot currently be held in India as planned.
“FIFA is assessing the next steps with regard to the tournament and will refer the matter to the Bureau of the Council if and when necessary. FIFA is in constant constructive contact with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in India and is hopeful that a positive outcome to the case may still be achieved.”
FIFA’s declaration makes clear that it will NOT have any dealings with the CoA and will only be communicating with the Union Sports Ministry (read government of India) to arrive at a workable resolution, if any.
Now that India stands effectively “locked out” from the international football system, it also means that Indian clubs cannot make foreign signings.
