IOA still controls Hockey India

It might sound absurd, but the 21-page Memorandum of Association of ‘Hockey India’ submitted to the Registrar of Societies in New Delhi gives all powers for its execution to the Indian Olympic Association, reports Sharad Deep.

It might sound absurd, but the 21-page Memorandum of Association (MoA) of ‘Hockey India’ submitted to the Registrar of Societies in New Delhi gives all powers for its execution to the Indian Olympic Association. The MoA, a copy of which is with

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, goes on to say that the IOA president’s decision on any issue would be “binding on everyone”.

Section VIII on page 17 of the MoA states, “Any dispute relating to organisational matters in the society shall be referred to the IOA president whose decision shall be binding on all the disputing parties.”

The constitution also does not mention anything about the merger of the Indian Hockey Federation and the Indian Women's Hockey Federation. It only states that, out of the 12 office-bearers, four would be women — two vice-presidents and two joint secretaries.

“It's a violation of the FIH guidelines, which wanted the formation of Hockey India only after the merger of the two bodies,” said a state hockey chief, on the condition of anonymity.