FIFA suspends India’s football body over ‘third party influence’

In a big blow to Indian football, international apex body FIFA on Tuesday suspended the country's soccer association "due to undue influence from third parties".

This means that India will not be able to host the big-ticket Women's Under-17's World Cup, slated to begin in the country on 11 October.

"The Bureau of the FIFA Council has unanimously decided to suspend the All India Football Federation (AIFF) with immediate effect due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes," the apex soccer body said in a release.

"The suspension means that the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022, scheduled to take place in India on 11-30 October 2022, cannot currently be held in India as planned," it added.

However, on an optimistic note, FIFA said that the suspension will be revoked "once the AIFF administration regains full control of the AIFF's daily affairs".

"FIFA is in constant constructive contact with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in India and is hopeful that a positive outcome to the case may still be achieved," it added.

In May this year, India's Supreme Court disbanded the AIFF and appointed a committee of administrators to govern the popular sport in this country.

This was because of the Indian football association's failure to hold elections since December 2020 when the tenure of its last governing body ended, with the AIFF attributing the same to the pending legal cases regarding its constitution.