Supreme Court to hear matter of India’s suspension by FIFA on Wednesday

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<strong>The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on Wednesday the matter of the suspension of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) by football's world governing body FIFA.</strong></p>
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FIFA suspended AIFF with immediate effect "due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes".<br />
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The suspension also means that the 2022 FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup, scheduled to be held in India from October 11-30, cannot be held as planned.<br />
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The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, sought an urgent hearing in the Supreme Court today.<br />
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In June, a joint FIFA/AFC mission conducted a three-day visit to India, holding "constructive discussions with local stakeholders" regarding the situation at the AIFF.<br />
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The meetings had concluded that the next steps should be the ratification of the AIFF Statutes in line with FIFA/AFC principles of good governance and the holding of an electoral congress to choose the next AIFF leadership. This would be based on a timeline agreed by AIFF stakeholders.<br />
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The delegation also met with FIFA Council member Praful Patel, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, representatives of the AIFF general secretariat, members of the AIFF Congress, I-League clubs, ISL clubs, representatives of Football Sports Development Limited, and the administrators appointed by the Supreme Court of India. </p>