Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports plans ranking system for national sports federations

"The sports ministry will set up a committee for this purpose. The committee will comprise sports administrators, sportspersons and professionals from other fields, including chartered accountants and management experts,” said Sports Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar.

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 14, 2018 09:28 AM IST

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports plans ranking system for national sports federations

Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (R) and Sports Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar. Bhatnagar said, “This is the first time the sports ministry will attempt to put in place a system by which sports federations will be ranked or rated according to set parameters.” (PTI Photo)

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is planning a ranking system for National Sports Federations (NSFs). Aimed at inculcating healthy competition between sports bodies, the rankings will be based on the federations’ administrative capability, transparency, talent-spotting ability, and medal count of athletes.

The implementation of the sports code — which, among other things, bars officials over 70 years old — will also be an important yardstick. “This is the first time the sports ministry will attempt to put in place a system by which sports federations will be ranked or rated according to set parameters. The sports ministry will set up a committee for this purpose. The committee will comprise sports administrators, sportspersons and professionals from other fields, including chartered accountants and management experts,” said Sports Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar.

According to the plan, the NSFs will be ranked for the financial year 2017-18, and the list will be released by May. While the committee will conduct its own study, it will also ask NSFs to submit audited accounts, give details of how professional management practices have been implemented, and how effectively they have addressed players’ grievances.

However, no call has been taken on whether funds released to NSFs will be linked to the rankings. “There is no plan to link rankings with funding at the moment. As of now, we want the ranking system to be an incentive for national sports federations to improve their internal systems of management, governance and talent promotion. Hopefully, these rankings will spur healthy competition between federations and will in turn help the athletes across disciplines,” said Bhatnagar.

“The committee which will be tasked with ranking the various sports federations will submit its findings. After that, an opportunity will be given to the sports federations to give their comments and state whether they think the rating is fair or not. After receiving the NSFs’ feedback, the rankings will be published,” said Bhatnagar. While the feedback of athletes will be taken, it will serve more as a guide, as the rankings are to be ‘objective’ rather than ‘subjective’.

Meanwhile, Bhatnagar said the ministry is set to introduce a two-year post-graduate course in sports management at the Indian Institute of Management-Rohtak. The course will cover apparel design, equipment manufacturing and event management. The sports ministry is consulting the Ministry of Human Resource Development, under which IIMs function, and aims to start the course later this year.

Nihal Koshie

Nihal Koshie is an Associate Editor and sports writer at The Indian Express. He is best known for his in-depth reporting and investigative work that often explores the intersection of sports and social issues. He is also a key member of the sports desk, which is based out of The Indian Express' office in Noida. Professional Background Role: Associate Editor (Sports) at The Indian Express. Key Achievements: He is a two-time winner of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism. He won the RNG award for 'Sports Journalism' for 2019 for his exclusive interview and follow up stories with sprinter Dutee Chand, who became the first Indian athlete to say she was in a same-sex relationship. He won his second RNG award in the 'Investigative Reporting' for 2023 for a series of exclusive stories related to sexual harassment charges levelled against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by the country's top women wrestlers. Expertise: While he covers major sports, he is particularly recognized for his extensive reporting on Athletics, investigative stories and long-form news features. Recent Notable Topics & Articles (Late 2025) Nihal Koshie’s recent work reflects a focus on investigative and human-interest stories Recent investigative pieces: He recently wrote a profile of an Indian teenager serving a jail sentence in Kenya after being embroiled in a doping scandal while chasing "Olympic dreams." Wrestling: He continues to track the political and social fallout of the Indian wrestling protests, including the recent public appearances of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and the political career of wrestler Vinesh Phogat. Recent long-form features: The story of the rise of Kranti Gaud, the young fast bowler who was a key member of the ICC women's World Cup-winning team; The physics and science behind modern cricket bats Podcast Presence He is a guest and contributor to the "Game Time" podcast by The Indian Express, where he provides technical and social analysis of current sporting events. Experience: 24+ years Previous experience: Times of India (2001-2005), Daily News and Analysis (2005 to 2010) Nihal joined The Indian Express in May, 2010 Social Media X ( formerly Twitter) : @nkoshie You can follow his latest work and full archive on his official author profile. ... Read More

Tags:
National Sports Federation

Loading Recommendations...

May 09: Latest News

Live Blog