All India Football Federation (AIFF) elections can be deferred to 31st December 2026, as per the new directive by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs. (PTI)
Elections of all the National Sports Federations (NSFs), including the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and All India Football Federation (AIFF), can be deferred to 31st December 2026, as per the new directive by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs.
Through a letter dated 22nd December 2025, the ministry notified all the federations that, in order to implement the foundational changes required by the newly passed National Sports Governance (NSG) act, the federations will be allowed to defer the elections till December 2026.
“Compliance requirements under NSG Act, 2025 necessitate adequate preparation time for NSFs to establish robust electoral structure and procedures, and alignment of the Constitution/Bye-laws of NSFs with the NSG Act,” stated the letter from the ministry to all the NSFs and the IOA.
The NSFs will be required to take appropriate measures to restructure their General body and ensure all the members and units are aligned with the provisions of the NSG act. As per the act, the strength of all the NSF Executive Committees will be fixed at 15 members, and at least four Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM) will be mandatory members. The term of an EC has been capped at four years.
The ministry said that it has reviewed the election schedules of NSFs and felt that the implementation of changes is important.
“In order to facilitate the smooth transition under the new governance framework as also to allow adequate time for implementation of the statutory requirements under the NSG Act by the NSFs, it has been decided that those NSFs whose elections are scheduled to be held in the coming months…are allowed to defer the elections upto December 31, as a transitional measure,” it added. The only exception is the cases where there are specific directions by the Courts of Law.
“During this extended period, the existing Executive Committee of the concerned NSF shall continue by extending the tenure of the current office-bearers of the respective NSFs for the duration of the deferment period, subject to approval of its General Body.”
“This one-time extension is solely for the purpose of transitioning to the new electoral framework established under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025,” it stated.
The National Sports Governance Act, 2025, received the assent of the Hon’ble President of India on 18.08.2025 after being tabled in the Parliament during the monsoon session. The new act will replace the Sports Code of 2011. On Friday, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “All the procedures related to the act have been done. We are vetting the legal implementation of the act, and it will be implemented next year in January.”