The National Sports Governance Act, 2025: Our Submission on the Draft Rules

Update: The Rules have since been notified. This note reflects our comments on the October 2025 drafts.

The National Sports Governance Act, 2025 set the framework. The three sets of draft Rules released on 15 October 2025 gave it working parts: the draft National Sports Governance (National Sports Tribunal) Rules, the National Sports Bodies Rules and the National Sports Board Rules. AM Sports Law & Management Co. welcomed them as a strong statement of intent to professionalise sports administration in India, and our submission to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, dated 14 November 2025, set out recommendations on each.

The National Sports Tribunal

The Act gives the Tribunal a broad mandate for the speedy and cost-efficient disposal of sports-related disputes and transfers pending cases involving National Sports Bodies to it, but the draft Rules did not define what a “sports-related dispute” is. We recommended a jurisdiction clause listing the categories of dispute the Tribunal would hear, from governance, elections and recognition to selection, eligibility, discipline, safeguarding, sports contracts and integrity matters, along with appeals from internal committees. We asked for two points to be made explicit: football player disputes already follow an international route through the AIFF Players’ Status Committee, and sexual harassment complaints have their own forum under the POSH Act. We also suggested that the Tribunal be able to step in where a sports body fails to act within prescribed timelines.

On procedure, Section 17(9) of the Act requires the Tribunal to frame its own procedure. We recommended that the Rules require it to publish detailed Rules of Procedure and Practice within six months of its constitution, including guidance on how its jurisdiction interacts with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We also recommended clear grounds and an inquiry process for the removal of the Chairperson and Members.

National Sports Bodies

The Olympic Charter (Rule 27 and Bye-law 1.5) and the statutes of international federations such as FIFA, FIBA and World Athletics require national bodies to be free of external interference. We suggested that the Rules expressly affirm the autonomy of National Sports Bodies in line with those statutes, so that the framework is read consistently by the international bodies India’s federations answer to.

Under the draft Rules, only athletes aged 25 or over who had retired at least a year earlier could be listed as Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit. We recommended including active athletes, with conflict-of-interest safeguards, consistent with Rule 21 of the Olympic Charter and the practice of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the British Olympic Association. We also proposed additional disqualification grounds for office bearers, covering current anti-doping sanctions, findings of age falsification, competition manipulation or financial impropriety, and direct conflicts of interest, and recommended that the Athletes’, Ethics and Dispute Resolution Committees have a prescribed composition, operational independence and a route of appeal to the Tribunal and, where applicable, to CAS.

The National Sports Board

Rule 8 of the draft Board Rules sets out grounds for removing the Chairperson or a Member, which is a welcome inclusion. We suggested that it be supported by an evidentiary threshold, an independent inquiry process, timelines, interim suspension powers and a review mechanism. On the residuary and relaxation powers in Rules 12 and 20, we recommended that their exercise be accompanied by written reasons, prior notice with an opportunity to be heard, and publication, so that the Board’s flexibility comes with the predictability that private leagues, independent professionals and international bodies look for.

Conclusion

The Act and its Rules reflect a forward-looking and globally benchmarked approach. Clear definitions, published procedure and transparent accountability will help the new institutions earn the confidence of athletes and federations from the outset.