Supreme Court orders AIFF to adopt new constitution in four weeks; no fresh elections

The Supreme Court delivered the judgment in the AIFF draft constitution case after eight years.

Ending the protracted legal battle, the Supreme Court has pronounced the final judgment in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) draft constitution case. The bench of Justice Sri Narasimha & Justice A. S. Chandurkar delivered the judgment earlier on Friday.

The apex court has cleared the draft constitution with minor modifications. However, the copy of the final constitution is not available to the public yet.

In a big relief for Indian Football, the court has ordered no fresh elections to be held. This decision has prevented India from receiving another FIFA ban. The apex court has allowed the Kalyan Chaubey-led Executive Committee to complete its term.

The much-awaited Supreme Court's judgement on the AIFF Draft Constitution case is out now! #IndianFootball #AIFF pic.twitter.com/Z3UdKPXHjx

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) September 19, 2025

No Fresh election on the cards

The biggest takeaway from the judgment is the absence of the word ‘election’. Multiple parties, including Delhi FC, represented by Prashant Bhushan, and Bhaichung Bhutia’s representative, called for fresh elections.

They claimed that the current AIFF Executive Committee, led by the AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, came for an interim period of three months. However, it has now been serving and presiding over the matters of the federation for the last three years.

The Supreme Court, with its judgment, has allayed the fears of a FIFA ban. A fresh election ordered by the Supreme Court would have irked FIFA, as it might have been interpreted as third-party interference.

The global football body considers the current executive committee as the legitimate authority to run the federation, and any hindrance in the completion of its term would have accounted for third-party interference.

Also Read: What could be the impact of another FIFA ban on Indian Football?

AIFF to adopt new constitution

The Supreme Court has paved the way for the new constitution to come into force. The apex court has directed the Kalyan Chaubey-led governing body to adopt the draft constitution in the special general body meeting at the earliest, ‘preferably’ in the next four weeks.

The timeline set by the court also aligns with the deadline given by FIFA to finalise the draft constitution. Last month, the global football governing body wrote to AIFF directing the federation to finalise the draft constitution by October 30, 2025. Failure to abide by this deadline would have meant a FIFA ban for India.

India received a FIFA ban in 2022 for third-party interference in the administration of the federation. If the federation fails to adopt the new constitution before October 30, it would again invite a ban from FIFA, which would have a catastrophic impact on the growth of Indian Football.

Also Read: FIFA–AFC warn AIFF to end crisis and adopt new constitution by 30 October or face ban

Indian Football on its way to normalcy

The chaos that ensued the decision by Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the commercial partner of AIFF, not to proceed with the new season of the Indian Super League seems to be resolving. FSDL’s decision was caused by the observation of the Supreme Court earlier this year, which prevented AIFF from making any major decisions.

The court’s observation tied the hands of the federation as it could not progress with the negotiations over the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with FSDL. The agreement is set to expire in December this year.

In a recent interim order, the Supreme Court allowed the federation to proceed with whatever is necessary to resume the Indian Super League. Following that, AIFF decided to go ahead with a fresh tender process to find a commercial partner that will manage the Indian Super League.

AIFF released a Request for Quote (RFQ) on September 8 to invite bids from parties interested in overseeing the tender process to monetise the commercial rights of AIFF properties for a limited term. Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) was announced as the successful bidder on September 15 and has been appointed by the federation to manage the tender process.

This week, Indian Football has been enlivened with two critical stand-offs coming to an end. The new AIFF constitution, which will be adopted in the next four weeks, promises to transform the Indian Football landscape by bringing more transparency and accountability into the administration of the game.

Whereas, the progress in the process of finalising a commercial partner hints at the return of the Indian Super League by the end of this year.

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