The All India Football Federation (‘AIFF’) is the National Sports Federation for football in our country, which prescribes rules and regulations for the governance of the sport. One such set of regulations is the AIFF Indian Club Licensing Regulations. These Regulations provide for certain procedures and standards to be maintained by the best club in football in order for them to retain their License, which is necessary to participate in national level competitions as well as those hosted by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), one of the six confederations within FIFA. These regulations have been in the news, with reports that the AIFF has made it mandatory for licensed clubs, which field a men’s team, to also field a women’s team.
On 18th July, 2020, Mr. Kushal Das, the general secretary of AIFF, has stated that having a women’s team is a newly inserted criterion in the AIFF’s licensing criteria for football clubs.
“In our licensing criteria, we have put in a criteria for the clubs that they must have a women’s team. Although it’s not in the A or B level, at least it’s a beginning,” Das said in an AIFF release, as reported here.
However, while most news outlets are reporting this as a mandatory criterion, it is pertinent to note that as stated by Mr Das, the said criteria does not fall under category A or B of the AIFF’s criteria gradation.
As per AIFF’s criteria gradation (Article 7) under the said Regulations the following are the 3 possible categories that a criterion may be assigned:-
(A) “A”- criteria – “MANDATORY”: If the Licence Applicant does not fulfill any A-criteria, then it shall not be granted a Licence to enter the National and AFC club competitions. Indian Club Licensing Regulations 11 Provided that on an application by a Licence Applicant that has undergone licensing process but failed, can seek an Exemption, to participate in National Club competitions, within 7 working days from the date the decision was communicated to the Licence Applicant. The Club Licensing Committee – First Instance Body may at its discretion grant Exemption, to participate in National Club competitions with sanctions as provided in Article 9 of the ICLR, to the Licence Applicant.
(B) “B” – criteria – “MANDATORY”: If the Licence Applicant does not fulfil any B-criteria, then it shall be sanctioned as specified by the Licensor but may still receive a Licence to enter the National and AFC Club Competitions.
(C) “C”- criteria – “BEST PRACTICE”: C-criteria are best practice recommendations. Non-fulfilment of any C-criteria does not lead to any sanction or to the refusal of the Licence. Certain C-criteria may become “MANDATORY” criteria at a later stage.
As per Article 14 (Sporting Criteria) of the Guidelines, the criteria for having a women’s team will fall under “C” Criteria – best practice recommendations- and thus cannot be labeled as a mandatory requirement, as has been widely reported. The clause pertaining to ‘Women’s Team’ is as follows:
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S.09 CRITERIA DESCRIPTION
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AFC CRITERIA
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NATIONAL CRITERIA
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WOMEN’S TEAM
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N/A
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C
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The Licence Applicant / Licensee / Exemption holder must have a Women’s team participating in AIFF or AIFF Member Association organised leagues/competitions
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DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED 1. List of Women’s team players for the upcoming season with AIFF CRS ID 2. List of competitions participated (alongwith proof of participation)
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It is quite clear, as per the Regulations, that having a Women’s team is only a best practice recommendation – the non-fulfilment of which will not lead to any sanction. However, it is commendable that AIFF, one of the founding members of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) has decided to take this step despite it not being mandated by the AFC. This is a significant step forward for the women’s game in our country, especially in light of the fact that India will be hosting the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2021 and the Women’s Asian Cup, 2022. The hope is that the licensed clubs begin to take more interest in the development of the women’s game in our country which in turn can lead to a system similar to that existing in Europe, where a few leading football clubs have women’s teams that are equally, if not more, successful than their male counterparts.
- GAURAV SAXENA
About the Author: Gaurav is an advocate practicing civil and commercial litigation in Mumbai. Ever since his childhood, he has been an avid sports player and viewer. He aims at developing and establishing ideas for the codification of sports law in India, along with discussing means for social development through a more organised sporting sector in the country. He also want to highlight issues that have been plaguing India in the field of sports while trying to provide legal solutions to the same.
