The objective of the bill is to create a conducive ecosystem, as India is eyeing the right to host the 2032 Olympics

The government on Wednesday tabled in the Lok Sabha the National Sports Governance Bill 2025, which seeks to bring under its ambit all National Sports Federations, including the country’s richest sporting body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), a first for the autonomous body that does not take government funding.

The proposed statute provoked much commentary, with some legal experts suggesting that this could be challenged on the grounds of being violative of the rights of private associations to self-govern.

The objective

The objective of the bill is to create a conducive ecosystem, as India is eyeing the right to host the 2032 Olympics. It aims to establish a legal framework to ensure transparent and fair operations of National Sports Federations, promote sports ethics while strengthening athlete protection through grievance redressal mechanisms, among others. While the Bill does not explicitly name BCCI, which is not recognised as a National Sports Federation, it is expected to be deemed an NSF, bringing it under the ambit of the Bill, given cricket’s return to the Olympics.

Some experts believe it is a positive step that can pave the way for all sports bodies to be run professionally on the lines of the BCCI, which can act as a model.

Veteran sports management professional and DG at Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), Joy Bhattacharjya, said: “ With cricket set to become an Olympic sport, the BCCI should definitely be governed by the bylaws of the National Sports Governance Bill. And to be honest, other federations have much to learn from the BCCI, which has been operating without any government funding and yet managed to create a successful national team and irrespective of any circumstance,s has never allowed the game to suffer.”

According to Hardeep Sachdeva, Senior Partner at AZB & Partners, this could be a test case for the state’s authority to legislate over non-governmental sports entities.

“If the Bill explicitly subjects BCCI to statutory obligations — such as compliance with the National Sports Code, adherence to athlete welfare norms, and financial disclosures — it could formalise oversight mechanisms long recommended but never fully implemented. This may also pave the way for legal challenges on the right of private associations to self-govern. The wider implication is not just regulatory parity across sporting bodies but also a test case for the state’s authority to legislate over non-governmental sports entities that operate in a public capacity,” he added.

Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Rediffusion, added, “BCCI’s constituent associations are fairly chaotic, and so this is expected to bring a layer of oversight and accountability.”

Published on July 23, 2025



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