Read Gaurav Bhawnani’s piece in favour of an extension of sporting bans here. The premise of Bhawnani’s argument is that athletes serving term bans are unfairly benefitting from the current situation, that it is an effective reduction in their sentence as they are not worse off than any other player who is also not able to play due to suspension of sporting activities. I argue that this is based on a flawed understanding of sports. Athletes serving bans are not unfairly benefitting from the current situation, let alone receiving any benefit at all. They continue to be banned for the ..read more

A joke in Andrew Fidel Fernando’s hilarious satirical column The Briefing led to the present debate: should players serving term bans see their terms extended due to the coronavirus lockdown? Let me explain what I mean by that. Players, across sports, who have typically committed serious infractions such as doping, outright cheating or spot/match-fixing are given bans for a period of time such as a year or two. These bans do not consider the number of matches that might be played in the term, or even if the player would/could have played those matches. Fernando pointed out that the Bangladesh ..read more

Caster Semenya is fast. Some even say she’s too fast. And in a few days, she’ll get to hear if her speed will be the undoing of what she does best: run. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS“) is days away from its verdict on her challenge to the validity of the Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification (Athletes with Differences of Sex Development) (“DSD Regulations“) issued by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), and the outcome could be anybody’s guess. The DSD Regulations offer Semenya, and so many others like her, a new kind of obstacle to wom ..read more

Introduction 2017 was perhaps the most significant year[1] in recent Indian football history. The FIFA U-17 World Cup was generally considered to be a success, the Indian national team qualified for the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (“AFC”) Asian Cup for the first time since 2011 and the fourth edition of the Hero Indian Super League (“ISL”) was for the first time recognised as a league by the AFC, therefore concluding its longest and arguably most successful season yet. However, 2017 also saw the All India Football Federation (“AIFF”) attempting to restructure the affairs of Indian club f ..read more

Introduction     The Board of Control for Cricket in India (“BCCI”) has recently been confronted by the resurgence of an issue involving the National Anti-Doping Agency (“NADA”) and whether, like other Indian sports federations, it should submit itself to the jurisdiction of NADA – by way of compliance with anti-doping rules and testing procedures, which effectively mirror those laid out by the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”). As things stand, the BCCI is not NADA-compliant, as it self-administers what it believes to be a perfectly transparent and efficient doping control ..read more

On 28 March, 2018, CA, the governing body for cricket in Australia announced sanctions against the Australian cricketers Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, for their roles in an allegedly pre-meditated plan to tamper with a cricket ball in the 3rd test of Australia’s ongoing tour of South Africa. Steve Smith and David Warner, who were previously captain and vice-captain of Australia’s test team, respectively, were banned from playing domestic and international cricket for 12 months, while Cameron Bancroft was similarly banned for 9 months. In addition, Smith and Bancroft would not ..read more

‘The Laws Relating to Fantasy Sports Games in India’ is an authoritative collection of articles on the legal and regulatory aspects surrounding fantasy sports games in India. The publication is an initiative of the Sports Law and Policy Centre, Bengaluru and has been enabled through contributions from experts in sports and gaming laws from leading law firms in the country. The publication provides a contemporary reference point on the legal environment surrounding fantasy sports games in India, especially in the context of recent legal and judicial developments. The articles critical issues af ..read more

This list of the Ten Reforms Indian Sports Administration Needs has been carefully selected keeping in mind the sporting ecosystem in India and the challenges that have plagued it over the years. This report includes a foreword by Abhinav Bindra. We have recommended reforms under the following five broad heads: Sports Governance Sports Integrity Athlete and Gender Representation Sports Federation’s Powers Sports Funding Each head begins with a brief background on the issue to give context to the reader, we then set out the challenges posed and the reason changes are necessary and finally, r ..read more

Participation and engagement in gaming is a universally practiced and pursued recreational and social activity offering opportunities for consumer engagement, brand promotion, fan engagement and interest. Games can be in the form of crossword puzzles or quizzes or in more advanced and interactive forms such as card games or fantasy sports. In regulating those offering such games, Indian laws differentiate between games of skill and games of chance, and specify a strict prohibition on participation and offer of games of chance for stakes, while taking a more favourable position with games of sk ..read more

We are pleased to present to you the first edition of the Sports Law and Policy Centre’s Policy Brief titled, “Lessons for India from the Rio Olympics and Paralympics Performances”. We launched this on December 16, 2016 in association with, our partners, the GoSports Foundation at the Tandem Allied Sports Awards Nite.  Kidambi Srikanth, Devendra Jhajharia, John Gloster and Nandan Kamath unveiled the first copies of the brief. Why do we need this Policy Brief? We are all aware that Indian sport and especially Indian Olympic and Paralympic sport needs an overhaul if we are serious ..read more