Sports Ministry’s key rules for National Sports Federations explained — Full breakdown inside

The provisions are intended to regulate public funding and strengthen athlete preparation, governance and accountability across National Sports Federations. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has prescribed a series of norms governing financial assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs), covering athlete selection, grassroots development, coaching, sports science and financial accountability.

Key provisions include:

• Grassroots development: NSFs must earmark at least 20% of their annual budget for grassroots programmes.
• Transparent selection: Selection policies for international competitions must be announced at least one year before continental or World Championships and two years before multi-sport events.
• High-performance management: NSFs with an annual budget of Rs. 10 crore or more must appoint a High Performance Director in consultation with the Ministry.
• Coaching support: The scheme provides for foreign coaches, high-performance specialists, national coaches and sports science personnel, subject to prescribed norms.
• Athlete development: NSFs are expected to support academies, structured training programmes and the identification of promising senior and junior athletes.
• Core athlete pool: The prescribed ratio for core probables for major international events is 1:3 or 1:4, with additions requiring government approval where necessary.
• National Championships: Grants are capped at Rs. 30 lakh for High Priority disciplines and Rs. 25 lakh for Priority and General disciplines, subject to conditions.
• Sports science: NSFs must establish sport-specific medical protocols, including injury management and return-to-training procedures.
• Quarterly testing: Athletes are required to undergo quarterly sports science tests, with relevant data uploaded to the designated portal.
• Insurance cover: The guidelines prescribe annual medical insurance of Rs. 5 lakh and personal accident insurance of Rs. 25 lakh for campers, subject to the scheme’s provisions.
• Doping control: Funding for sample collection and testing is to be released directly to NADA and NDTL, respectively.
• Sports equipment: The scheme provides for training kits and discipline-specific competition equipment, subject to procurement norms.
• Administrative expenses: Administrative support is capped at 10% of funding under the scheme, while specified administrative and legal expenses are subject to a separate 2.5% ceiling.
• Financial accountability: NSFs must comply with procurement rules, approved budgets and applicable utilisation-certificate requirements.

The guidelines also prescribe norms for travel, accommodation, daily allowances and the remuneration of coaches and support personnel. The provisions are intended to regulate public funding and strengthen athlete preparation, governance and accountability across national sports federations.