NEW DELHI, Jul 26: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Tuesday said it “cannot accept the turnaround time of 20 weeks” for Hockey India to adopt a new Constitution and put in place a duly recognised and democratically-elected board and wants the process to be completed promptly.
The FIH has already threatened to strip India of the hosting rights of the men’s World Cup to be held in twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29.
In its third letter to the Delhi High Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) which is running hockey in the country, FIH CEO Thierry Weil said the 20 weeks time was “unacceptable” to the world body.
“We refer to your email of 22nd July, in which you mentioned that you will facilitate the amendments to the Constitution, holding of elections and handing over the affairs to the democratically elected body within 20 weeks from the date of Judgement. In this regard, we consider that to be an unsatisfactory reply…,” Weil said in his letter to the COA, a copy of which is in possession of PTI.
“…We would like to reiterate once again that FIH cannot accept this turnaround time of 20 weeks. Please be advised that the Constitution’s amendments and its adoption as well as the holding of the elections to the Executive Board of Hockey India will have to be held promptly,” he added.
Last Wednesday, the FIH had sought a “detailed timeline” from the CoA on adoption of amended Constitution and holding of fresh elections of Hockey India.
It said if Hockey India does not adopt a Sports Code-compliant Constitution at the earliest, the country runs the risk of losing the hosting rights of World Cup.
A three-member FIH delegation, led by newly-appointed acting president Seif Ahmed, is also expected to visit India on August 15 for an emergency meeting to assess progress made with regards to adoption of a new Constitution, which is a must to salvage the World Cup.
Weil had also said that the FIH is still hopeful of hosting the World Cup in India but if things don’t work out during next month’s visit, a ban on Hockey India is a possibility.
Repeated calls to CoA members went unanswered. (PTI)
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