The Committee of Administrators (CoA) that are currently in charge of overseeing the framework of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) have been given till July 31 to finalise the new constitution or risk facing an international ban. This news comes after a seven-member FIFA and AFC joint delegation met with the Supreme Court-appointed CoA and state football associations on Thursday, according to a report by the Indian Express.
In addition to this, the AIFF's Special General Body Meeting must be called by August 5, and the elections for the new president must be held by September 15 in order to prevent any chances of suspending India from world football.
In May, the supreme court ruled that former president Praful Patel was to step down as the AIFF after overstaying his tenure, and appointed the CoA, which comprised ex-Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, former Supreme Court judge Anil Dave, and former India captain Bhaskar Ganguly. The CoA's main job was to run the day-to-day affairs of the AIFF after India's apex football body found them in violation of the Sports Code.
This was a violation of their statutes as FIFA has a strict policy against outside party interference, but chose to dispatch a delegation to the country instead of imposing an immediate ban, they decided to check the situation by themselves.
“After the meetings, they realised that the state associations were all on the same page and happy with the CoA,” the source said. “The CoA, too, has assured they will cooperate with FIFA and AFC and finalise the constitution within the set timeline.”
It is learnt that FIFA and AFC will monitor the drafting of the new AIFF constitution on a day-to-day basis to ensure it is aligned with their statutes. Once finalised, the constitution has to be presented to the Supreme Court by July 15 with the next hearing scheduled to take place on July 21.
