A case for good governance in sports

Over 40,000 privately-controlled federations are, together, tasked with governing sport across our nation. Yet, only one in every ten Indians has ever participated in organised sport. The first national-level law relating to sports, the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, steps into this state of play.

Most of us have heard of The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and a handful of other federations. We follow the Indian teams selected by these private bodies, and we watch the matches they organise. There are over 50 national-level sports federations like these — one for each sport. As spectators and consumers, we interact with these organisations transactionally, with the benefit of some distance. Athletes have a deeper relationship with sports bodies, especially local federations that shape their daily lives and professional trajectories. 

The public’s relationship with sports federations has been fraught, with few of these bodies performing their stipulated functions adequately. The federations' roles include nurturing national sporting talent, and unlocking the potential of athletes while enabling them to reach the podium. 

It might come as a revelation to the average Indian that sports federations are obliged to serve the interests of the wider public, rather than those of their leaders and members. Do they successfully encourage, support and inspire us to move, play and excel? In searching for an answer, the yawning gap between public function and current reality becomes apparent.

Each of our 50+ national sports federations is meant to have affiliated members in every state and union territory. The state federations should, ideally, have their own affiliated units in every district. That would make for over 1,500 state federations and more than 40,000 district federations across the country. This is the concept of a ‘sports pyramid’ – a hierarchical, multi-layered organisation of federations that are obliged to govern and promote sports at the national, state and district levels. 

Our hidden pyramid

The pyramidal structure of sports governance is designed to, theoretically, serve two purposes: To give every Indian the chance to experience sport locally, and deserving athletes opportunities to progress upward through a unified structure in a sport — right up to national and international levels. Clear rules and governance standards are to be cascaded from top to bottom. This sports pyramid is envisioned as a self-sustaining, autonomous and, ideally, self-funded structure. 

Unfortunately, much of the Indian sports pyramid has, historically, been shrouded in disorganisation. Systems development, legacy and impact have not always been prioritised. Except for the BCCI, every other national federation still relies heavily, and often exclusively on government funding. 

Public hope

Despite these challenges, lying buried in the depths of the pyramid’s vaults is public hope in the prospect of another life for Indian sport. Over the decades, the embers of optimism have been kept kindled by our hockey teams, by the likes of Abhinav Bindra, P V Sindhu and Neeraj Chopra, and a line of world-class cricketers. 

Each of them reminds us that talent exists, at scale, waiting to be found. They give us reason to believe that, in our midst, are potential champions across sports disciplines, and help us imagine what might be unearthed through a systematic approach to sport.

Over the final quarter of the 20th century, an understanding grew, worldwide, that the autonomy of private sports federations was not absolute — that they needed to maintain healthy relationships with state actors and public accountability. Some countries passed laws, others issued codes of governance, and a few took the opportunity to exert greater governmental control over their national sports movements.

The Indian legal structure had some peculiar constraints. With ‘sports’ placed alongside ‘entertainments and amusements’ in the State List (instead of appearing in the Concurrent List), the Union government has long perceived itself to have limited competence to regulate sports. 

Nonetheless, five decades ago, the government began issuing a series of administrative instructions on standards of good governance to national sports bodies. Eventually, the instructions were consolidated into the National Sports Development Code, 2011 (Sports Code). When the legality of the Sports Code was challenged, the courts held that the Union government could legitimately regulate national sports federations. However, in the politicised milieu of sports federations, the Sports Code has not been enforced either strictly or uniformly. 

Regulatory reluctance

Eventually, the government’s regulatory reluctance led to public interest litigation and interventions by the constitutional courts. Earlier this year, it was reported that about 770 cases relating to sports federations had reached the courts over the last decade, with about 200 of them being related to governance. Courts have tried to reform federations by making new rules and enforcing changes to the constitutions of these bodies. In multiple cases, the courts have also suggested that the governance standards in the Sports Code must cascade down to state and district levels. Just last week, the Supreme Court held that the principles of the All India Football Federation’s new constitution were to extend to all its state association members. 

Although there have been attempts for almost 15 years to bring in a national sports law, the legislature was the last of the three wings of government to act. Passed in the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the National Sports Governance Act finally puts a formal institutional structure in place. 

Sports regulation will be led by a National Sports Board, a Sebi-type regulator and rule maker for sports. There will also be a National Sports Tribunal to arbitrate disputes and a Sports Election Panel to oversee free and fair elections in the sports bodies. Also envisaged by the Act are structures for athlete participation and representation in governance, and welfare and safeguarding measures.

One Act, many scenes

The first order of business is to put in place the regulatory structures envisaged by the Act and to identify those public-spirited individuals who will lead these institutions. Next, begins the unprecedented project of formally assembling the pyramid – with the National Sports Board tasked with keeping a register of every recognised sports body and all its affiliated units at the state and district levels. The open register will equip anyone who wants to play organised sport with basic information on who to deal with and where to find them. 

Then, the next regulatory imperative is to cascade good governance standards through this pyramid. Here, the Board can have responsibilities similar to those exercised by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, which enforces its listing standards on public companies.  Here, too, the balance between autonomy and public accountability must be carefully maintained. In this venture, raising the governance standards of state and district bodies will be the biggest challenge. Yet, this is essential for the success of the comprehensive reform project. Many attempts to upgrade governance by reforming only the top of the pyramid, i.e., national sports federations, have faltered. 

Fittingly, making the sports pyramid function to potential will need an effective triangular relationship — among national bodies, state governments and the state and district bodies. Under the Act, national sports bodies have supervisory obligations to hold their affiliated units to account, and each state government must also play its part by passing a state law that propagates the Act’s standards and principles. These efforts can ensure that state bodies are not captured by the same people for elongated terms and that governance standards are raised where athletes have their main touchpoints — with competitions, selections and progression.

Once uniform standards are in place, we will have the opportunity to align the entire sports pyramid with our national goals. In this phase, the Board can play a nudging and guidance role that extends beyond regulation. 

Released just weeks before the law, the National Sports Policy, 2025, laid out a vision for Indian sport — to play a central role in our nation’s socio-economic progress. It proposes a ‘whole-of-nation’, ‘whole-of-government’, ‘multi-stakeholder’ approach, with each player, public or private, business or civil society, playing their part. This will need a well-aligned ecosystem with clarity of roles and responsibilities for everyone.

Although the effect of the Act may not be seen immediately, its phased implementation could be a turning point. What it has in its favour is timing. It finds a country awakening to its own potential in sport, and sport’s role in its future. The ambitions of hosting major sporting events have injected urgency. Private capital and philanthropy wait in the wings. The financial and reputational consequences of a low-trust ecosystem are apparent to all concerned, not least the federations when they go out looking for sponsorships and investments.

Sustainable change happens when interests converge. Sometimes, it needs a catalyst. The Act opens a door. On the other side of that door lies a future in which every talented young Indian can start, stay in and succeed at sport. A future in which movement, play, sport and physical activity are woven into the fabric of our days.

(Nandan Kamath is a sports lawyer and non-profit leader based in Bengaluru)