Supreme Court to hear AIFF case on August 17 as Centre seeks urgent hearing post FIFA ban

AIFF currently stands suspended by FIFA due to third-party control over its governance. Meanwhile, the Centre has sought an urgent hearing on the matter, with Supreme Court to hear the case on August 17.

Image credit: AIFF

On Tuesday, the Centre sought an urgent hearing in the Supreme Court regarding the matter involving the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in the wake of its suspension by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) for "undue influence from third parties". As a result, it has stripped the nation of the hosting rights for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022, scheduled to host from October 11-30. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that an "important development" has occurred. FIFA sent a letter suspending India, which is in the public domain and needed to be brought on record.

Image credit: Getty

The bench told Mehta that the matter was listed for Wednesday, and it would try to take it up on priority. Mehta said that FIFA was in Geneva and has made certain decisions which are significant developments for the nation and need to be brought before the court. "I request that the AIFF matter pending before the court be urgently heard", he declared.

The SC appointed a three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA), which former apex court judge AR Dave headed, to manage AIFF's affairs. The CoA, which possesses former Chief Commissioner of India SY Quraishi and ex-India captain Bhaskar Ganguly as members, also framed its constitution in line with the National Sports Code and model policies.

(With inputs from PTI)