National Sports Governance Bill, 2025:
The Central Government introduced the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha to overhaul India’s sports administration framework.
- It aims to replace the 2011 Sports Code with a legally enforceable, athlete-centric governance system, bringing bodies like BCCI under its ambit.
- The National Sports Governance Bill, 2025 is a landmark legislation aiming to ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability in National Sports Federations (NSFs). It introduces legal safeguards for athletes, standardized elections, grievance redressal, and institutional oversight.
Key Features of the Bill:
- Legal Status to Governance Norms: Converts previously executive guidelines into binding law, ensuring enforceability across NSFs and sports bodies.
- BCCI Under Governance Framework: BCCI to be recognized as an NSF, requiring annual recognition and resolution of all disputes through the National Sports Tribunal.
- Statutory Institutions Introduced:
- National Sports Board (oversight and compliance)
- National Sports Tribunal (dispute resolution)
- National Sports Election Panel (election integrity)
- Executive bodies must include minimum 4 women and 2 elite athletes, enhancing gender and athlete participation.
- Officials under 70 can complete their term; 3 consecutive terms of 4 years allowed with 1-term cooling-off.
- Safe Sport Mechanism & Athlete Protection: Provides legal backing to safe sport protocols, internal grievance systems, and athlete welfare provisions.
