MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

India which is to host U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 has been suspended by FIFA

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

Because of undue influence from third parties, FIFA the global football ruling body has suspended all activities of the Indian Football Federation, AIFF. Although India is no football power, FIFA's statutes are very strict, and very jealous of its autonomy.

Peru was for several years victim of FIFA's rigor precisely for local politics meddling. So were Pakistan and Zimbabwe, among others.

In this case apparently the AIFF is in a state of chaos and being run by administrators after long-serving former chief Praful Patel stayed in office beyond the maximum term of 12 years without fresh elections, which courts ruled invalid.

Patel, who has held a number of high-profile government positions alongside his AIFF post, ran Indian football from 2009. Government ministers combining their political work with running major sports federations is the norm in India.

“Indian sport is full of these politicians,” sports journalist Norris Pritam, who has covered Indian sports for a variety of publications across 40 years, said.

“And whether it is football, or cricket, or track and field athletics or hockey, and there have been threats from international federations to other national federations.”

For now, it's football in the spotlight. Fresh AIFF elections are to be held on August 28 and the poll process began last week, after India's Supreme Court approved a timeline prepared by the administrators.

The suspension means that the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022, scheduled to take place in India on 11-30 October, cannot currently be held in the country as planned. Patel had a significant role in the tournament being awarded to India.

Pritam says there is still a strong belief in the country, at governmental and social levels, that the tournament can go ahead and a resolution can be found.

But he added that: “This is a big blow to Indian football, especially to those girls who have taken to football in a big way. And also internationally, you get seen in a bad light.”

FIFA is assessing the next steps with regard to the tournament. The organization, headed by Gianni Infantino, said it is in constant contact with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in India and that it was hopeful that a positive outcome could still be achieved.

India's highest court disbanded the AIFF in May and appointed a three-member committee to govern the sport, amend the AIFF's constitution and conduct elections that have been pending for 18 months.