New Delhi: The All India Football Federation must refrain from making any major policy decisions, including negotiations to extend master rights agreement (MRA) with its marketing partners, till fresh elections are held, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.
The SC bench, involving Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi, observed that all further negotiations for the MRA should be conducted by the new committee that would take over once the elections are held as per the apex court’s directive.
The court concluded the hearing of all stakeholders on the AIFF constitution amendment case, which began in 2017. The hearing began on March 25 and spanned over 11 hours, involving extensive deliberations with all stakeholders, including AIFF’s state associations, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL, marketing partners) and the sports ministry.
After hearing all arguments and submissions the SC bench reserved its judgement and a date for the verdict would be informed to the stakeholders in several weeks’ time, possibly once the courts begin proceedings on July 14 after being on a break for May 26, which marks a significant moment in Indian football’s governance.
During the proceedings, Amicus Curiae Gopal Shankarnaryan addressed the ongoing discussions between the AIFF and FSDL regarding the extension of their 15-year MRA agreement that ends in December.
The court identified the Kalyan Chaubey-presided current AIFF governing committee as an interim body and emphasized that under the model code of conduct for elections, the federation mustn’t take any key decisions until the final order is issued.
The elections would be conducted once the bench approves the constitution, a draft of which prepared by Justice L Nageswara Rao, is already in possession of the apex court.
All the other applications would be heard by the SC after finalisation of the constitution. In case of any urgency, the AIFF has been directed to consult or approach the court for guidance.
After the issuance of these directives, the AIFF awards night scheduled for May 2 in Bhubaneswar, could lose its sheen as one of the executive committee members expressed second thoughts on attending to avoid contempt of court.
The SC bench, involving Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi, observed that all further negotiations by the AIFF for the MRA should be conducted once fresh elections are held and a new panel comes into power. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
