EFI governance crisis: Ministry seeks IOA-run ad-hoc panel

NEW DELHI: The beleaguered Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) could soon be placed under an ad-hoc body run by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The sports ministry is set to request the Delhi high court to dissolve the federation’s current executive committee (EC) and appoint an IOA-managed interim panel to take charge of the Army-run body’s day-to-day operations. The court is expected to hear the matter later this month.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The EFI has remained under judicial scrutiny for years over governance failures, factionalism and non-compliance with the sports code. This has affected the federation’s functioning and hurt the future of rider-athletes. The EFI last held elections in 2019 for a four-year term and the current executive’s tenure ended in 2023.The present dispensation — led by acting president Col (retd.) Jagat Singh and secretary general Col (retd.) Jaiveer Singh — has exceeded its tenure by more than two-and-a-half years.The ministry recently issued a show-cause notice to the EFI over persistent governance issues, mismanagement and selection controversies in the run-up to the 2026 Asian Games.The sport’s global governing body, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), has also warned the EFI of adverse action if it fails to hold elections by the end of the month. The FEI could ban the Indian federation from international competitions. That could result in the country’s athletes participating at the Asian Games in Japan as “neutral athletes” under the FEI flag.“The FEI strongly advises the EFI EC to take immediate steps to ensure a democratically elected EC assumes control of the national federation without delay. We recommend that the EFI EC form a committee to amend the constitution in full compliance with the national sports governance act, convene a general meeting of the EFI members, as defined and required by the act, to adopt the amended constitution and, hold a subsequent general meeting within one month to conduct elections for the EC.”The FEI expects EFI to complete this election process within three months,” the FEI wrote in a letter.