India was on Tuesday suspended by world football governing body FIFA for “undue influence from third parties” and stripped the country of the right to host the Under-17 Women’s World Cup, scheduled for October.
This is the first time the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has been banned by FIFA in its 85-year history.
“The Bureau of the FIFA Council has unanimously decided to suspend the All India Football Federation (AIFF) with immediate effect due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes,” the FIFA said in a statement.
“The suspension will be lifted once an order to set up a committee of administrators to assume the powers of the AIFF Executive Committee has been repealed and the AIFF administration regains full control of the AIFF’s daily affairs.”
On May 18, the Supreme Court had ousted Praful Patel as AIFF president for not holding elections due in December 2020 and appointed a three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA), headed by former top court judge A.R. Dave, to manage the affairs of the AIFF.
The FIFA has never allowed third party interference in the affairs of its member units whether by the court or the government. It has set up normalisation committees in various countries in cases similar to India. FIFA, though, has kept a window open for India, saying it is in touch with the sports ministry on the issue.
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