World football governing body FIFA has lifted the suspension imposed on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) barely two weeks after it had suspended the country due to undue third-party influence.Back on 16 August, India was suspended after the erstwhile AIFF president, Praful Patel, who was also a FIFA council member, refused to relinquish his post as the head of football in the country. His excuse for not exiting the stage being the long-drawn out pandemic, coupled with a court case regarding the AIFF constitution.FIFA suspends Indian football federation over third-party influencesIndia’s Supreme Court then intervened and removed Patel from his post. The SC also appointed a Committee of Administrators (COA) to run the AIFF. The setting up of the COA is where the contentious relationship with FIFA began, which eventually led to the ban.Consequently, the country was stripped off the rights to host the Under 17 Women’s World Cup which was scheduled to take place from 11-30 October 2022.During the suspension, FIFA reiterated that the suspension would be lifted if certain conditions were met, which India fulfilled.As a result, the country will also hold the U17 World Cup as planned following the lifting of the suspension.##NAJAVA_MECA_6596683##”The Bureau of the FIFA Council has decided to lift the suspension that was imposed on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) due to undue third-party influence,” FIFA said in a statement.“The decision was taken after FIFA received confirmation that the mandate of the committee of administrators that was set up to assume the powers of the AIFF Executive Committee had been terminated and that the AIFF administration had regained full control of the AIFF’s daily affairs.Finally, FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 scheduled to take place on 11-30 October 2022 will be held in India as planned. 🇮🇳FIFA has lifted the ban on All India Football Federation (AIFF). pic.twitter.com/42BpuKxOUV— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) August 26, 2022 “As a consequence, the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 scheduled to take place on 11-30 October 2022 will be held in India as planned,” the statement added.FIFA said it and the AFC will continue to monitor the situation and will support the AIFF in conducting its elections in a timely manner.
