Abstract

In this article, we are going to discuss the history, development, different and several schemes, and policies of sports in India which are spinning in our society, as well as the current issues and challenges which are faced by the modern sport’s governing body of our country.

Keywords

Sports governance, history, organization, schemes, other countries sport’s governing model

Introduction

Sport plays a crucial role in the development of a country. Sport has a wide scope in our society, people and children play games in their daily life to keep healthy themselves and some of them choses it as their career. Sports have their benefits to keep the human being physically as well as mentally fit.  In the past, people had played sports like horse riding, archery, hunting, and wrestling for leisure and recreation. Sports display how society has changed from Vedic times to the present. Chess, archery, wrestling, and polo are some of the games found in Vedic times. Sports evolved with time and now it is an integral part of our society. As we know sports are not limited to leisure now, people have started it as a professional. Sports are considered and played as a reputation of a country during any sports tournament. During the sports event, the nation’s pride is at stake. Olympic development changed the whole scenario of sports in our society. Sportspersons started representing their country at the international level under activity. Sports evolved with time and now it is an integral part of our society. As we know sports are not limited to leisure now, people have started involved in them as a professional. Sports are considered and played as a reputation of a country during any sports tournament. During the sports event, the nation’s pride is at stake. Olympic development changed the whole scenario of sports in our society. Sportspersons started representing their country at the international level under various activities in the Olympics[1].

With time, several events have been started at the international level like the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Winter Olympics, and other events at international levels. In India, sports are regulated by different governing bodies, which leads to complexity and targeted objectives could not be achieved by our country due to the poor performance of a sportsperson.

Research Methodology

The Research methodology of this paper is to be expressive, and the sources of research are secondary as well as primary in nature that are published articles, blogs, and official websites of sports federations, associations & authorities.

Review of Literature

History of Sports in India

As we know, sports were a vital part of ancient India, where people and kings & queens were used to play games for their amusement. In Ramayana and Mahabharat games like archery, wrestling, chess, and kabaddi were found[2]. Chess and archery were developed throughout the world in India. Fencing, swimming, and hunting were also found in India in 1000-1200 BC. In Vedic times, polo, hockey, hammer throw, and horse riding were found in India. As time passed, sports in India also started to evolve. People started getting involved in games as a professional instead of leisure and enjoyment. India started being involved in events at the international level gradually like in the 1900s Olympic participation, KD Jhadav won the first medal for India and then, steadily at different international levels like the Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games. The Government as well as parents also started providing aid to sportspersons for their better performance. In, the Olympics 2024, India won 7 medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze)[3]. Nowadays, the courage of sport has increased which also helps our nation to develop it selves at the international level.

Sports Organization and Governance

As we know nowadays sports are not limited to leisure and amusement, it has become the profession or career of the person. The more increment in the number of participations of sportspersons and people, the more increment in the demands of sportspersons related to sports facilities, coaching, and infrastructure. With the new and evolving sports industry, more finance is required, which is a problem for almost every nation. Present governing bodies in India guide the sports associations and federations. These are autonomous governing bodies that help in the overall growth and development of the sports industry. The dual and autonomous governing bodies lead to complexity in our sports industry[4] and which is the problem of almost every nation. Present governing bodies in India guides the sports associations and federations. These are autonomous governing bodies which help in overall growth and development of sports industry. The dual and autonomous governing bodies lead to complexity in our sports industry[5]. 

The Present model of governing bodies are as follows: –

1. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS)
2. Sports Authority of India (SAI)
3. India Olympic Association (IOA)
4. State Olympic Association (SOA)
5. National Sports Federation (NSF)

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Sports Authority of India

The responsibilities of MYAS and SAI are to provide financial aid as well as friendly infrastructure to the sportsperson. Their goal is to understand and improve the law relating to the sports industry. These governing bodies work at the national level to conduct and promote different sports activities in our country. They with time provide several schemes to cultivate the talent of sportspersons and represent them at different levels.

Some of the schemes which help to promote the sports are as follows: –

1. Fit India Movement
2. Khelo India Program
3. Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)
4. The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
5. Mission Olympics 2024

Fit India Movement

Fit India Movement was started by our honorable PM at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on 29 August 2019. It was a nationwide movement, and the object was to promote or encourage people to remain healthy and fit by including physical activities and sports in their daily activities[6]..

Khelo India Program

This scheme or program of government was started in 2017-2018 and it is a national program for the development of sports in India named as Khelo India.

The object or purpose of this program and scheme was to uplift India’s sports culture at the grassroots level through organized talent identification, structured sporting competitions, and infrastructure development. This program was launched to cultivate the talent in sports from children and helps them to build a career in sports as a professional by providing several opportunities. 

Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)

This scheme was launched by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in 2014. This scheme was launched to aid top athletes of our country and help them to represent our country at the international level by providing the best coaching, infrastructure, equipment, and meals[7].

The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)

This program was launched under the charitable endowments act 1890 and notified by the government of India in November 1998. The purpose of this program was to provide the best coaching from renowned international coaches, and technical and scientific support by providing the best equipment. 

Mission Olympics 2024

This scheme was launched under NITI Aayog as a short- and medium-term action plan for the upcoming Olympics 2024. The purpose of this scheme is to win 50 medals in the upcoming Summer Olympics 2024 by providing the sportsperson best facilities like coaching, equipment, financial support, and the best diet or meals.

 India Olympic Association and State Olympic Association

IOA and SOA are autonomous bodies whose purpose is to represent the sportsperson at different international levels. Their function is to provide the best assistance to sportspersons and also organize several national tournaments in our country which help sportspersons cultivate their talent and represent our country at global events.

Indian Olympic Association was established in the year 1927 by Dorabjee Tata and the object or purpose of IOA is to get Indian teams’ participation in the Olympics, Asian, South Asian, and Commonwealth Games. The National Federation and State Olympic Association were affiliated with IOA[8].

 Similarly, the State Olympic Association (SOA) was established or affiliated to promote Olympic Sports which includes ensuring cooperation from other sports associations of different states for the same purpose. Their work is to cultivate the talent in sports from people at the state level by organizing different events or tournaments at the state level and helping them to represent themselves to a higher level[9].

National Sports Federation

This federation was established under NITI Aayog, and the main object of this federation is to organize events, championships, and tournaments at the national level. It was established to the development of athletes and support the development of sports in all programs, and which provide high-performance sports in our country.

Governance Model in Other Countries

USA: – In the USA, there is no interference of state government in the governance of sports.

Institutions other than the government is responsible for the growth and development of the sports industry in the USA as a result USA has the best performance all over the tournaments, championship, and events at international or global events.

CHINA: – before acceptance of the new policy i.e., the open-door policy by China, the state government in China was the head of the sports industry. The state government had great interference in the governance of the sports industry. However, after new policy brought new changes and transformations in China. The State General Administration is now in charge of the sports industry. But still, the government has all over the control on sports industry throughout the country[10].

AUSTRALIA: – In Australia, there is no state interference in the industry of sports.

The Australian Sports Commission is the government entity which is responsible for the growth and development of the sports industry in Australia[11].

National Sports Policy, 2001

As we know, still there is no proper statute or law has been passed or enforced by our government regarding sports. However, bare participation in the tournaments by sportspersons is not enough for the growth and development of the sports industry at the international level. So, law felt the need for law in the field of the sports industry and represented a bill regarding the National Sports Policy in India in 1984. Then, it was decided to review the National Sports Policy every 5 years to implement necessary steps, if needed. However, it is still not implemented in our country. To fulfill the objectives of sports the sports are included in state list entry 33 of the seventh schedule of our constitution. The objectives of this policy are[12]: –

• Growth and development of the sports industry.
•  Upgradation in infrastructure of stadiums.  
• Providing the best scientific and technical coaching to the sportsperson.
• Providing support to the National Sports Federation and other sports bodies.
• Enhanced women participation, scheduled tribes, scheduled caste, and rural youngsters.
• Involvement of the corporate sector in the sports industry for their growth.

Issues and Challenges

For the growth and development of every profession, there should be a best and proper administration, management, and organizational structure and this is the same implied in sports administration. As we know the success of any sport depends on the best administration and organizational structure. If, there has been any downfall in the performance of a sportsperson. Then, it will be due to inefficiency or malfunctioning in the administration and corruption in the governance of the sports industry. There are some issues in our sports industry which are as follows[13]: –

1. No clear role and responsibility.
2. Lack of transparency in functioning.
3. Power without responsibility and accountability.
4. Lack of professionalism.

5.Corruption and misuse of power

No clear role and responsibility

It is one of the issues faced by our sports industry, the role and responsibilities of the authorities are not clearly defined or mentioned in the constitution of an association which leads to corruption and malfunctioning of the administration of sports authority. The Commonwealth Game Scam 2010 is an illustration of corruption and malfunctioning of the sports administration. The scam was involved in the embezzlement of Rs. Seventy thousand crore (70,000 crore). It was assumed that only half of the money that was allotted was to be invested in the Indian sports persons.

Lack of Transparency in functioning

There is no transparency in the functioning of authorities, we have lifetime presidents and executive members in federations, but their responsibilities are not mentioned anywhere. In this way, there is a lot of lack of transparency in terms of the working of these federations.

Power without responsibility and accountability

As we know we have been participating in the Olympics for decades. However, the total medals are only 35 which is only because of power without responsibility. The leaders and authorities have power, but they do not use it properly that’s why the sportsperson lacks performance and there is no accountability for it.

Lack of Professionalism

As we know politics has been entered into our sports industry, mostly president and executive members of sports federations and associations are politicians. They are not passionate about their duties towards the sports industry, which leads to the corruption and malfunctioning of federations and associations. As an instance, recently Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh president of the wrestling federation of India and another illustration is Narender Batra who was heading a lot of sports federations at the same time and CBI filed charges against him for misuse of funds allotted for the Indian sports persons.

Corruption and Misuse of Power

In the sports industry, the president and leaders of federations are mostly corrupted and misuse their power. For instance, the commonwealth scam, BCCI fixing scandal, and another example of misuse of power are recently in Delhi, an IAS officer forcefully acquired the whole stadium for walking with his dog, other cases such as sex scandals, sexual harassment. In the last five years, 28 cases have been filed against the coaches, authorities, etc., and in 2012 International Olympic Association suspended the Indian Olympic Association for electing the people against whom the criminal charges had been filed.

Cases of sports Governance

State of Andhra Pradesh vs. K. Satyanarayan & others[14]

In this case, the SC held that the game titled “rummy” shall not be considered as gambling and it would be considered as a game of skills not gambling because this game is considered as a game of skills and not a game of luck.

Dr. K. R. Lakshmanan vs. State of Tamil Nadu & another’s

In this case, the Supreme Court held that wagering on horses is a skillful work and not the act of gambling[15].

K Murugan vs. Fencing Association of India

This is the landmark judgment in the history of the Olympic games in India. In this case, SC held all the guidelines that facilitate the regulations of the Olympic Association, responsibilities, and appointment of authority[16]..

Rajeeb Kalitav vs. Union of India & Others.

In this case, the Supreme Court held that the stadium or sports ground shall not be used for non–sports activities or commercial activities without the prior permission of the court.

Cricket Association of Bihar v. Board of Control for Cricket in India & Another’s.

In this case, the Supreme Court held that the sports bodies are bound to follow “fairness” and “good faith”. To investigate the functioning of BCCI, the court constituted a committee titled “Lodha Committee”. Then, based on the Committee report the court said that “the amendment legally violates the principle of natural justice where one cannot be a judge in his cause. The amendment raises a conflict between the administrative duty and his commercial interest. The court held the amendment unfair and unreasonable as it stands contrary to the principle of fairness, and transparency in the discharge of public functions of BCCI and its administration”.

Suggestions  

As we know we still don’t have any proper law regarding the sports industry which covers all the issues regarding sports. So, we need proper and efficient governing bodies for the growth and upliftment of the sports industry. Some of the suggestions are below mentioned: –

Allocation of funds: – In the financial year of 2022-2023 the government allocated Rs. 3062.60 Cr. for the sports industry, although it has been increased by many crores as compared to the previous year. However, this budget was still lessened as compared to other countries such as China, where the government spends approximately 300 billion yuan per year on the sports industry. So, we need a sufficient budget for the smooth growth of the sports industry.

Lack of Sports Infrastructure: – Lack of infrastructure is one of the reasons for the downfall of the performance of sportspersons. Our sports industry doesn’t have good-quality of stadiums, coaching and equipment. So, it is important to have good and proper infrastructure for the upliftment of the sports industry.

The attitudinal problem in India: – People of our country are still not passionate about the sports industry. They enter into this industry just to get a job and a better career.so, we need to change this perspective of people towards the sports industry.

Women representation: – For instance, in swimming sport, it is a stereotypical perspective of people that women are stigmatized for the sport of swimming because of their way of dressing. So, we must change this perspective of people. so, that more and more women will be able to represent themselves in the sports industry.

Vision and Policy in India: – In our country, post-success is considered by our governing bodies, and sportsperson has been getting facilities after getting a medal. so, we need to change this vision and provide pre-success facilities so that they would cultivate their talent and be able to give their best performance.

Rules and Regulations: – our country still has lack of rules and regulations regarding the administration and structural organization. So, we need to enforce strict laws regarding the sports industry.

Conclusion 

The sports industry is an integral part of our country, it is no more a time pass or leisure for the people. It has become the profession of people as well as a nation’s pride. So, to better compete with other countries, it is necessary to enforce strict rules and regulations in the sports industry and also provide the best and best quality of infrastructure, equipment, coaching facilities, financial facilities, and meals or diets. Moreover, we know the present model of governing bodies is not able to fulfil the objectives or purpose of the sports industry so, we need to change our present model of governing bodies that would help to achieve our

objectives and purpose of the sports industry without any unnecessary delay. Sports education should be imparted to children at a very young age as well and it should be included in the course of children at the school level. So, that they would be able to cultivate their talent regarding the sports. Moreover, Sports facilities are not available in blocks or districts that is a great limitation in the growth and development of the sports industry. So, it is necessary to build them to uplift our sports industry.

AUTHOR: Chelsi Antil

UNIVERSITY: Chaudhary Charan Singh University

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[1] Paridhi Goel, Everything you need to know about sports law in India, ipleaders (13 September 2023, 10:00 Pm), https://blog.ipleaders.in/everything-need-know-sports-law-india/

[2]  India has a sports history going back a thousand years, buisnessindia.co (13 September 2023, 10: 30 pm), https://businessindia.co/csr/india-has-a-sports-history-going-back-a-thousand-years#:~:text=India%20has%20a%20sports%20history%20that%20goes%20back%20thousands%20of,%2C%20wrestling%2C%20swordsmanship%20and%20boxing.

[3] ibid

[4]  sports law in India, ipleaders (13 September 2023, 11: 30 PM), https://blog.ipleaders.in/sports-law-india/ 

5.Sports Governance in India, IAS Gyan (13 September 2023, 11: 30 pm), https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/sports-governance-in-india

[6] Sports Authority of India, https://sportsauthorityofindia.nic.in/sai/ (14 September 2023)

[7] ibid

[8] Supra 5

[9] Supra 5

[10] Ranajit Bhattacharyya, Anoushka Gupta, Sugandha Vats, Avital Datskovsky and Pritha Bhattacharya, The Gaps in India’s Sports Administration and Governance, The Wire (14 September 2023, 1: 00 pm), https://thewire.in/sport/gaps-india-sports-administration-governance

[11] ibid

[12]  Supra 1

[13] Supra 5

[14] AIR 1968 SC 825

[15] AIR 1996 SC 1153

[16] AIR 1991 SC 658