Indian Sports Governance: Challenges and Solutions

Context: This article is based on an Editorial “Govt suspends new wrestling panel: Being run from Brij Bhushan’s premises” which was published in the Indian Express. The Union Sports Ministry suspended the newly-elected committee of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) as the newly elected committee consists of members who were associated with  WFI’s former president.

An Overview On Indian Sports Governance

• Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS): The administration of sports in India is carried out by several sporting associations such as the Department of Sports (DOS), Sports Authority of India (SAI)
• Indian Olympic Association (IOA): The IOA is an autonomous body that oversees the representation of athletes or teams in the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and other international multi-sport competitions.

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Indian Sports Governance: Challenges

• Lack of Standardization in Indian Sports Governance: The existing Indian sports governance structure for sports complexes is unclear and lacks coherence. This ambiguity regarding authority and jurisdiction creates confusion at the grassroots level.
• Duplication of Policy: The different levels of government, sport organizations, and the private sector provide similar services such as coaching, academies, and events while strategy and compliance are given inadequate attention. 
  • Example-Both the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan and Fit India Movement are required to provide sports equipment to government schools. 
• Corruption: At the governance level, the sports organization suffers from corruption, lack of transparency and financial irregularities.
• • Example- In 2012, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was suspended from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for electing members with pending criminal cases against them in its governing body. 
• Drug usage: As per the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), in 2019, India accounted for 152 anti-doping rules violations placing it third behind Russia (167) and Italy (157).
• Less Push for Other Sports: Sports like kho kho, kabaddi, wrestling, gymnastics, etc., have not received the same attention as cricket due to a lack of school-level promotion, cultural upbringing, and connected career insecurity.

Way Forward to the Indian Sports Governance

• Need for Legislation: A legal backing should be given for Indian sports governance, which will help check the accountability and actions of stakeholders and agencies involved with managing sports. 
• Structural changes in Governance:  Different authorities need to be held accountable to higher authorities for their activities, and there must be a free and fair selection of people who run these associations. 
• Creation of Autonomous Bodies: An autonomous body should be created with a complete view of the functioning of the sports federations. 
• Grassroots Level Reforms: Restructuring of district and state bodies that contribute to the national sports governance pyramid needs to be done. 
  • Example- All India Chess Federation functions has established a working calendar, and provides a detailed database of all registered players.
• Gender Parity in Sports: Women must be provided with increased representation in sports organizations and efforts need to be made to provide them with a gender-neutral sports environment.
• Sports Awareness: Provisions for developing the infrastructure which helps the children to choose sports as a career.

Conclusion:

Respecting Indian sports governance standards is essential to guaranteeing accountability, openness, and fair play.  Thus, immediate and stringent corrective measures are needed to uphold the principles of good governance in sports organizations.