The government will be bringing the National Sports Governance Bill in the upcoming session of Parliament with an aim to introduce much needed reforms in sports administration
Legal disputes, delay in holding elections and internal factionalism in sports federations have hampered administrative functioning.
The Sports Ministry has therefore put the ball in the court of NSFs (National Sports Federations) saying the respective federations should take the lead and start the process of good governance on a war footing, the Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said during one-day Khelo Bharat Conclave here in New Delhi on Thursday.
The government will be bringing the National Sports Governance Bill in the upcoming session of Parliament with an aim to introduce much needed reforms in sports administration, he added.
The sports minister told the National Sports Federations (NSFs) to chart out a roadmap — a five-year policy — on developing their sports.
“We need to assess at once where we are and where we want to go. To begin with, I urge the NSFs to provide me with a five-year policy by August. Then we can develop a 10-year plan,” said the sports minister during the Khelo Bharat Conclave.
“With the Asian Games in 2026, we need a holistic approach because we not only want to win medals at the Olympics but make sports a commercial property where we can invite the world to come and play in India and boost sports tourism,” he added.
Office bearers of National Sports Federations and Indian Olympic Association were present on the occasion. Other stakeholders like representatives of corporate houses also attended one-day Khelo Bharat Conclave.
With India expressing its interest to host the 2036 Olympics, improving the country’s performance at the Olympics is one of the key focus areas. Clearly, the government wants the sports federations to implement good governance practices, and draw strategies to improve India’s performance at the international level.
Lack of quality coaches; poor administration and menace of doping were the other critical issues that were discussed at length during the Khelo Bharat Conclave.
The new sports policy Khelo Bharat Niti that focuses on strengthening sports programmes from grassroots to elite levels, was also discussed at the Khelo Bharat Conclave. The NSFs draws its funds from the government to run sports programmes. The government is looking to provide funding based on performances on federations.
“The success of implementing the Khelo Bharat Niti depends on how well we execute the initiatives. We are happy to provide all support to NSFs but going forward, we will also start looking at performance-based grants. This will ensure that we are focused and serious with our planning and how we run the game,” says Dr Mandaviya.
The sports ministry also urged NSFs to chalk out a proper calendar of events so that athletes do not suffer logistical issues. The focus should be grassroots. The more solid the foundation the better the edifice, the sports minister said.
“The three-layered structure integrated talent development pyramid starting with schools and converging at the proposed Olympic Training Centres. The government has already outlined a 10-year plan (with well laid out strategy for 2026-27 to 2030-31 and then building over the momentum) starting with residential sports school from where talented children will have the opportunity to reach the intermediate level and then finally graduate to the elite division that will cater to potential international medal winners,” says the sports minister.
Mandaviya also emphasised the role of states in nation building. Given the enormity of the task at hand to convert India’s dream to be in the top echelons of global sports, the government has mooted the idea to sign agreements with states, schools, corporates as and when required to obtain long-lasting results, he added.
