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Sports Governance in Pakistan: The Case for Legislative Reform:

Sports Governance in Pakistan: The Case for Legislative Reform:

Primary statutory foundation governing sports within Pakistan is The Sports (Development and Control) Ordinance 1962[i] (“Sports Ordinance”). The framework served its purpose when it was promulgated; however, with the passage of time sports has become more regularized and commercialized in the global market whereas Pakistan’s primary framework governing sports remains the same and to a greater extent outdated as well.

Section 3(1) and 5 of the Sports Ordinance show how central government is vested with immense powers to create statutory boards which are then vested with powers to control the administrative and electoral matters of the national sporting bodies. This broad power clashes directly with lex sportiva[ii] as international governing bodies, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Federation Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”) make autonomy a mandatory condition of affiliation[iii]. An example of such clash would be when the two bodies which are required to work together i.e. the Pakistan Sports Board (“PSB”) established under the Sports Ordinance and Pakistan Olympic Association (“POA”) came at odds with each other. In 2014 the IOC sided with the POA that the government should not interfere in the matters of organizations and sports bodies relating to sports[iv]. Whereas, in 2024 PSB despite strong protest from POA and the National Sports Federations (“NSFs”)[v] implemented the measures pertaining to creation of an election commission by the PSB, adjudication of internal matters and complaints within NSFs, the power of the PSB to impose ad-hoc committees on NSFs and adoption of Code of Ethics and Governance in Sports (“PCEGS”) [vi]. These differences between PSB and the POA have shaped the Pakistani sports landscape with national federations often left caught between competing political and........

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