National Sports Governance Act

The National Sports Governance Act, 2025 establishes uniform governance standards for recognised National Sports Federations (NSFs). It seeks to make their executive bodies smaller, athlete-centred, gender-inclusive and accountable through prescribed composition, term limits, age limits and ethical safeguards.

Executive-body composition and representation

Each NSF is to be governed by an Executive Committee constituted in accordance with the Act and its governing documents.

• The Executive Committee may have no more than 15 members.
• Its principal office-bearers include the President, Secretary-General and Treasurer.
• At least two members must be sportspersons of outstanding merit, ensuring direct athlete participation in decision-making.
• At least four members of the Executive Committee must be women.
• The athlete-representation and women-representation requirements operate within the overall ceiling of 15 members.

Age, term and tenure limits

The Act limits prolonged control of federations while retaining a narrowly defined exception linked to international sports rules.

• The normal upper age limit for contesting an NSF election is 70 years.
• The age limit may extend up to 75 years where the statutes or bye-laws of the relevant international federation permit it.
• The tenure of an elected office-bearer is four years.
• An office-bearer may hold office for a maximum of three consecutive terms.
• A candidate seeking a third consecutive term must obtain at least two-thirds of the votes cast.
• After completing three consecutive terms, the office-bearer must undergo a cooling-off period of one term before becoming eligible again.

Conflict-of-interest and ethical safeguards

NSFs must incorporate ethical governance and conflict-management mechanisms into their internal rules rather than leaving such matters solely to informal practice.

• An NSF must adopt a code of ethics and a conflict-of-interest policy applicable to persons involved in its governance.
• Relevant personal, financial or fiduciary interests must be disclosed so that actual or potential conflicts can be identified and managed.
• The governance framework provides for an Ethics Committee to examine ethical issues and violations.
• Conflict-of-interest requirements supplement statutory eligibility and disqualification rules for members and office-bearers.
• Compliance with the Act and prescribed governance standards is linked to recognition and regulatory oversight of NSFs.

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