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.
FIFA suspended AIFF with immediate effect "due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes".
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.
The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, sought an urgent hearing in the Supreme Court today.
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.
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.
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.
