Geoemkaponn desk
PANAJI: The Bureau of the FIFA Council has decided to lift the suspension that was imposed on the All
India Football Federation (AIFF) due to undue third-party influence.
The decision was taken after FIFA received confirmation that the mandate of the committee ofmadministrators that was set up to assume the powers of the AIFF Executive Committee had been
terminated and that the AlFF administration had regained full control of the AIFF’s daily affairs.
FIFA and the AFC will continue to monitor the situation and will support the AIFF in organising it’s elections in a timely manner.
As a consequence, the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022T scheduled to take place on 11-30 October 2022 will be held in India as planned.
This progress comes a few days after Supreme Court of India had disbanded the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and had urged the AIFF to revise their constitution in accordance with FIFA.
FIFA had suspended the AIFF, for the first time in its 85-year history, for “undue influence from third parties” and said the U-17 Women’s World Cup “cannot currently be held in India as planned”.
It should be noted that up until this week, the SC-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) served as AIFF’s executive committee and managed the organization’s daily operations. After elections were not held for the previous two seasons, the CoA assumed control of the AIFF for the first time ever.
The CoA dismissed by the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court disbanded the Committee of Administrators (CoA), which was in violation of FIFA rules and regulations, on Monday, August 22, days after AIFF was suspended by FIFA, leading to India’s right to host the U-17 World Cup being stripped off and Indian teams to be barred from competing in international events.
The Supreme Court had also directed the AIFF to revise its constitution in accordance with FIFA and also to hold the AIFF elections within one week. In acceptance of the court’s order, the AIFF elections are scheduled to be held on September 2, 2022.
AIFF had written to FIFA after Supreme Court’s order
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to dissolve the Committee of Administrators (CoA) the AIFF wrote to FIFA requesting them to withdraw the ban placed on it because the requirements for its lifting, as stipulated by the sport’s international governing body, had been met.
Sunando Dhar, the interim general secretary of the AIFF, wrote to FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura to ask her to reconsider FIFA’s decision to suspend the AIFF.
“It is with immense pleasure that we inform you that the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India took up our matter and passed an order dated 22.05.2022 regarding the full repeal of the CoA mandate and consequently the AIFF having full charge of the AIFF’s daily affairs,” Dhar wrote in the letter. “In view of the above, we request the FIFA and especially the Bureau to reconsider their decision of suspending the AlFF.”
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