National Sports Governance Bill, 2025

Parliament has passed two landmark pieces of legislation, the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025, aimed at reforming India’s sports ecosystem and ensuring greater transparency and accountability.

National Sports Governance Bill, 2025

This bill, hailed as a major reform, provides a statutory framework for the recognition and regulation of national sports bodies.

• New Institutions: It mandates the establishment of the National Olympic Committee, National Paralympic Committee, and National and Regional Sports Federations. It also creates a new statutory authority, the National Sports Board (NSB), which will be the primary body for granting recognition, conducting inquiries, and ensuring compliance.
• Governance Reforms: The bill introduces a structured approach to governance by making several provisions:
  • Executive Committees: The executive committee of national sports bodies will consist of up to 15 members, with a mandatory inclusion of at least two outstanding sportspersons and four women. To be considered an “outstanding sportsperson” for key positions like President or Secretary General, a person must be a sportsperson of outstanding merit or have served on the executive committee for at least two full terms.
  • Term and Age Limits: The bill sets a general age limit of 70 for members and a cap of three consecutive terms for key positions, unless a person is between 70 and 75 and international rules permit it.
  • Transparency: Recognized sports organizations that receive government funding will be considered public authorities under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, a move to enhance public accountability.
• Dispute Resolution: The bill establishes a National Sports Tribunal, a dedicated quasi-judicial body to adjudicate sports-related disputes independently and cost-effectively. Its jurisdiction, however, does not extend to disputes from major international events or internal matters under exclusive international federation jurisdiction.

(Source: AIR)