Recently the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) suspended the country’s top administrative organization All India Football Federation (AIFF) for undue influence by third parties.
This suspension took away from the country the right to organize the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 to be held from October 11-30.
FIFA:
FIFA or Fédération Internationale de Football Association is the highest governing body of football in the world.
It is the international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer.
FIFA is a non-profit organization.
Founded in the year 1904, FIFA was launched to monitor international competition between the national federations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. FIFA now consists of 211 member states.
Its headquarter is in Zurich.
Purpose:
The primary objective of FIFA is to spread football internationally and to promote integrity and fair play.
It is responsible for the organization and promotion of international tournaments, including the Men’s World Cup that began in 1930 and the Women’s World Cup that began in 1991.
It is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee and is also a member of the Board of the International Football Federation, which is responsible for setting the rules of football.
The six regional associations affiliated with FIFA:
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body for Asia and Australia
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has 56 members,
The Confederation of North Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCAF) has 41 members.
The Confederation of Sudamericana de Ftbol (CONMEBOL) is a 10-member South American federation,
The Oceania Football Federation (OFC) has 14 members, including New Zealand,
The Federation of European Football Federations (UEFA) is the governing body for Europe with 55 members.
All India Football Federation (AIFF):
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the organization that manages the game of football in India.
It manages the operations of the India national football team and controls the I-League, India’s premier domestic club competition, in addition to several other competitions and teams.
AIFF was established in the year 1937, and gained FIFA affiliation in the year 1948 after India’s independence in 1947.
Presently it has its office in Dwarka, New Delhi. India was one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation in the year 1954.
All India Football Federation (AIFF) banned by FIFA:
Reluctance to step down by the President of AIFF’S:
President Praful Patel, who is also a member of the FIFA Council, has refused to step down as head of football in the country.
He cited the long-running pandemic with the court case regarding the AIFF constitution.
Third-Party Interference:
Despite growing concerns about the functioning of the AIFF, the Supreme Court of India intervened and removed Patel from his position.
Apart from this, the Supreme Court also appointed a Committee of Administrators (COA) to run the AIFF.
According to FIFA law, member associations should not be subject to legal and political interference in their respective countries.
Third-party interference refers to a situation in which a FIFA member association fails to remain independent, is co-opted and no longer has control over the organisation.
In the case of India, the Supreme Court had directed the COA to conduct the AIFF as a case of third party interference.
Meaning of suspension with reference to India:
This means that India will not participate in any international football match and this applies to all national level team and club teams of each age group in the country.
The suspension affects international transfers as well as any developmental programs that AIFF officials had or were participating in.
It means a complete ban on all football related activities outside India.
Possible measures by India to lift the sanctions:
According to FIFA, in order to lift the ban on the AIFF, it needs to follow the following instructions:
The mandate of the COA will have to be repealed completely.
The AIFF administration should once again be made independent in charge of its day-to-day operations.
The rules and regulations of the AIFF need to be amended on the terms of the policies of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and its members are elected on the current AIFF membership structures based only on state federations.
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