Minister eager to make sports bill a reality

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is confident that the draft of the National Sports Governance Bill, 2024, will see the light of day.

Many former Sports Ministers had tried in the past but failed to make the bill a reality. Ajay Maken, who was in charge under the last UPA government in 2011, failed to push it beyond the cabinet as the touchy issue of bringing the BCCI under the purview of the bill had his own cabinet colleagues, including Sharad Pawar, opposing it. NDA’s Kiren Rijiju had also reiterated the fact that a Sports

Bill was the need of the hour but failed to make any headway.

Now Mandaviya, who took over the reins of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) in June, has taken up the big job. The draft was uploaded on the MYAS website last week. Ministry sources told The Tribune that Mandaviya is determined to first end consultations with all

the stakeholders, including the National Sports Federations (NSF), athletes and coaches.

Once that is done, a cabinet note would be circulated and then the bill will be introduced in the Parliament either in December or early next year.

“The bill will be a reality soon. The minister is yet to finish all his consultations. Once that is done and all the inputs get incorporated, a cabinet note will be made and then we will move from there,” a ministry official said on Monday.

The bill has quite a few pointers, including establishment of the Sports Regulatory Board of India, which would grant recognition to the NSFs and ensure compliance. It also seeks setting up an Appellate Sports Tribunal to handle all sports-related disputes and reducing reliance on civil courts for faster resolution. The tribunal will have no jurisdiction to hear issues related to the Olympic, Commonwealth and Asian Games.

The draft also demands that at least 10 percent of voting members in the general body of all the sports bodies should

comprise sportspersons of outstanding merit.

“This bill stands to support the athletes as more often than not it is them that get caught up in disputes in the federations. So the minister is taking extra care to safeguard their rights and that is

why he is very keen to interact with athletes and coaches before going forward,” the source said.