By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JAN 22, 2025: WITH the focus on India's superlative performance in 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment urged National Sports Federations (NSFs) to follow guidelines on good governance in a round table meeting held in New Delhi today. The core of the discussion revolved around establishing a comprehensive sports ecosystem with a focus on planning, governance, and infrastructure.

Union Minister emphasised on the need of greater transparency and accountability in the functioning of NSFs and the need to minimise litigations so that athletes don't have to suffer in the bargain. A 360-degree approach was highlighted as essential for comprehensive sports development.

"Our government is very clear that all the federations have to adopt good governance in their functioning. The elections need to be transparent. People have a habit of going to courts if they have lost the elections, on the other hand there are many individuals who keep sticking to their posts. This should not happen as it creates problems for our athletes", said Union Minister.

"If we want to host the 2036 Olympics and improve our medal tally in LA 2028, all stakeholders will have to pool in their resources and efforts. We have to think of the nation first, the athletes represent the country and not an organisation," Dr. Mandaviya said in his address.

During the interactive session, senior representatives of all recognised NSFs agreed to improve transparency in their governance and appreciated the government's efforts in creating a conducive environment for athletes to win laurels for the country.

Dr. Mandaviya further said that there is no dearth of sporting talent in the country, only need is to identify them and provide the right platform, equipment and training at every stage, with programmes like Khelo India playing a vital role.

"We are a vast country with a topography that supports all kinds of sports. We have a coastline of more than 7000 kilometres, so we can easily produce good swimmers from these cities and towns on the coast. We have a lot of tribal areas where children have a natural talent in sports like archery. We have to create a robust system to nurture these talent," he added.

To further develop talent, the Union Minister encouraged corporate sector involvement through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. He also asked NSFs to prioritise developing an academy culture with a focus on talent development and coaching with the support of private sector.

Dr. Mandaviya also spoke about improving the quality of Indian coaches through international exposure and is working on a plan to realise this goal. Further, a plan is being developed to optimize the engagement of government officials recruited under the sports quota in different Central Government Departments and PSUs, ensuring their active contribution to sports-related activities.