Sports Bill: Cosmetic changes futile, professionalism needed

Being in the sports field for over two decades, I have seen many regime, tyrants, and muddles in the sports administration arena. If I may dare to speak on behalf of almost all Indian sportspersons, we haven’t been the happiest lot. Each one of us secretly believes that if we had better sporting administration in India, we could have performed a few notches better. Don’t get me wrong. I am not pinning the entire blame on the administrators alone. After all, in majority of the cases, they hold honorary posts in the federations only for the ’love of sports’. I actually empathise with them. Previously, sportspersons did not have a voice. And the ones that were raised were only to tell comic and sometimes ridiculous stories of how things were ‘so unorganised’ back then. The hopelessness of the situation was quite evident and accepted. [caption id=“attachment_94364” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Sporting federations do not keep with the times. The coaches appointed are not updated with the latest techniques. The players are not educated about the doping hazard. AFP”]  [/caption] Now things are changing. No its not the sports will. It’s the sports bill. When the National Sports Development Bill was introduced by Union Sports Minister in the monsoon session of Parliament this year, our hopes rose. However, it was rejected and a re-draft requested before it could be re-introduced in Parliament again. The sports bill was a pro-active move by the Sports Ministry. One that definitely should be lauded. It sought to steamline the Indian sporting federations (including the BCCI) and bring about uniform rules and regulations for all. A few salient features of the bill were the age limit of 70 yrs for the federation office bearers with a maximum tenure of two terms, 25 percent reservation for sportspersons in the federation, accounts to be audited regularly and inclusion in the ambit of RTI, formation of a sports tribunal to address grievances and award penalties and norms to be followed to be recognised as a national sporting body. However, as a sportsperson, apart from the cosmetic changes in federations, what I would actually like to see is professionalism in the sporting federations. Its true that the government sanctions funds for sport and the federations are answerable to the government because of it. However, the bureaucracy that comes with it sometimes reduces efficiency of working. In today’s day and age when sport is becoming increasingly competitive, swift action has to be taken. Issues with submitting entries for tournaments, obtaining visas before travel, sanction and disbursement of funds prior to the tournament etc. are things that have affected all Indian sportspersons at some time in their careers. Complaints about the facilities provided at national camps and during tournaments have also been points of concern. I remember one instance where I was selected to play the World Championships in the US. The team was summoned to Delhi three days prior to the scheduled departure date to complete the visa formalities. Hence, those three days were spent not practicing but running pillar to post to obtain the visa. So luckily we got the visa appointment and luckily we got all our documents in order and luckily we got the visa (the evening we were to fly out) and so luckily we played the tournament because luckily our flight tickets got confirmed. Banking on luck is not the wisest ploy you see. So therefore something more reliable needs to be put in place. Sports administration is a tough, stressful and time-consuming job (if done well that is). How about if federations are run like a company where the CEO was a well-paid qualified employee who is efficient, accountable and hands-on with the assignment? Atleast then the sportspersons queries won’t be returned with a ’look I am not paid to do this and am hence doing you a favour’ kind of attitude. The remuneration for the federation office bearers should be made competitive enough so that they may treat this as a career option as against a ‘favour for the love of sports’. Mind you, through it all, mechanisms for accountability should be in place. Perhaps the government can set aside funds from the sports budget for this compensation and even go on to offer bonuses to successful federations and their office bearers. The debate of sporting federations being run by sportspersons as opposed to other officials is a healthy one. However, I feel a mix of sportsperson and officials would be the best combination. However, the sport would only benefit if they all have their heart in the right place. Merely milking the benefits that come with being in the federation is a temptation that should be discouraged. The other grouse I have with federations is that they do not keep with the times. The offices are dingy and ill-equipped. Some federations do not even have an office and work out of the homes of the office bearers. Where the entire world works via emails and the internet, the federations do not have websites and even if they do, they are usually not functional or updated. Emails go unanswered and unacknowledged for months. The coaches appointed are not updated with the latest techniques. The players are not educated about the doping hazard. An ideal federation would be one that would respect and look after its players. One that strived to provide its players with the best facilities, ensured unbiased team selections, motivated the players with incentives and recognition and made sure the players were comfortable and not hassled with administrative and financial issues so that they could solely concentrate on the sport. The federation should feel a sense of solidarity with the players, participate in their successes and losses and be willing to stand up and defend any player who is being wronged. The Sports Ministry must set non-tenuous guidelines to ensure the federations function professionally and efficiently and motivate the federations to set high standards of performance and achieve those in a non-controversial manner. Surely norms that go deeper than setting an age limit and tenure or reservation and financial accountability will be required. At a time where Indian sport is promising records, titles and accolades, the time has come for some concrete action. Perhaps the re-drafted sports bill could be the key.