India’s sports federations flout financial transparency rules?

The governing bodies – Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), and various National Sports Federations (NSFs) – receive substantial financial support from the Union Government, making their administrative health a matter of public interest.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) expects these governing bodies to follow strict guidelines, yet some of the most basic regulations get flouted.

Back in February 2015, the Ministry had directed all the National Sports Federations and the Indian Olympic Association to hoist suo-moto or self-declare the activities conducted by them mandatorily on their respective websites.

The guidelines came months after the Delhi High Court took cognisance of the NSFs not furnishing required information under the Right to Information Act (RTI) in a case involving Badminton Association of India and asked the Union Government to examine the functioning of these federations closely in December 2014.

The guidelines issued by the Sports Ministry following this included a 23-point compliance checklist for all federations, which must be present on all websites of all federations for the general public to access. This includes basic information about the executive committee, respective constitutions, revenue generated and others. This checklist was also made a part of the National Sports Development Code, 2011.

One among the 23-point compliance checklist was uploading the Annual Audited Accounts along with the balance sheet, for public access.

The federations were asked to furnish their financial data for the previous financial year by 30th June of the current year. This was later extended to 31st December of current year, following pushback from the federations, citing the deadline impossible to meet in 2015 itself. For example, the data for FY 2024-25 should have been uploaded by 31 December, 2025.

More than a decade since the directive, all major federations including the IOA continue to disregard the audited accounts and balance sheet compliance.

The Bridge observed that as of 11 March, 2026 out of the 14 major sports, which enjoy good viewership or are earmarked as priority sports, only three federations have their latest financials furnished on the website.

Surprisingly, the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which has been notorious for mismanagement in recent years, is one of the three bodies, who have their audited accounts for the 2024-25 (as per the 31 December deadline) public.

The other two federations, which met the demand, are the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) and Hockey India (HI).

Among the non-compliant federations, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and Athletics Federation of India (AFI) stood out.

The BFI website has navigation tabs for audited accounts until the 2022-23 financial year but clicking on them reveals nothing but a “Page Not Found” error, meaning that no verifiable data is currently accessible.

“All accounts are Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) audited and uploaded on Govt of India portal,” said AFI spokesperson Adille Sumariwalla, when reached out.

By the morning of 12th March, 2026 before the publishing of this article, all the audited accounts from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 was uploaded on the AFI website.

Elsewhere, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), and the All India Tennis Association (AITA) sat three years behind, with their latest available data stalled at the 2021-22 financial year.

A source at NRAI hinted that accounts have been audited until 2024-25, and said that it will be uploaded on the website soon.

Much like AFI, the NRAI also uploaded their audited accounts data from FY 2022-23 to FY 2024-25 on 12 March, 2026 before this article was published.

The WFI, meanwhile, asserted that they have audited accounts uploaded until 2022-23 FY on their website and that they were later banned for two years. Their website, however, only shows data until 2021-22.

“We have sent our post-ban audit to Sports Ministry for approval. Their server was down and hence it is not updated. It will be uploaded by 31 March,” the WFI said.

The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and the All India Chess Federation (AICF) fare slightly better, both dragging two years behind with their latest published accounts dating back to 2022-23.

Even the apex body, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), is currently sitting one year behind with data available only up to 2023-24.

This one-year lag is a remarkably common theme, shared by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), the Archery Association of India (AAI), and the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF).

As India looks to the future of sports governance, the legal framework is currently in a state of transition. The 2011 National Sports Development Code is slated to be completely replaced by the new National Sports Governance Bill of 2025. This new bill was partially enforced on 1 January, 2026.

However, the crucial component in section 29 regarding financial transparency of the National Sports Board, under the purview of which NSFs operate is yet to be enforced.

Furthermore, the language in this upcoming bill appears somewhat vague, stipulating that audited accounts must be provided by the “end of financial year” without specifying exact calendar dates.

“At the end of every financial year, the Board shall prepare its annual statements of accounts, balance sheet, income and expenditure account, and receipt and payment account in the form and manner as prescribed for statutory bodies of the Government of India,” it states.

The current state of financial transparency among India’s sporting federations reveals an administrative apathy that continues to hinder the professionalisation of Indian sports. While the February 2015 mandate laid the groundwork for public accountability, the actual enforcement has severely faltered.

The glaring discrepancies – from Hockey India’s exemplary record to the others requiring a push from media – highlight a fractured system.

As the new National Sports Governance Bill, which calls for greater transparency, eventually takes full shape, it remains to be seen how these issues would improve.

With additional reporting from Ritu Sejwal