FIH rejects Hockey India's time frame of 20 weeks to conduct elections, India's chances of hosting World Cup 2023 in danger

In what is a major blow to Hockey India's ambitions to host the 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said it 'cannot accept a turnaround time of 20 weeks' for Hockey India to adopt a new constitution.

The FIH wants Hockey India to immediately put in place a duly recognized and democratically-elected board and wants the process to be completed quickly.

The body has already threatened to strip India of the hosting rights of the men's World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29 in 2023.

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In its third letter to the Delhi High Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), which oversees the affairs of the hockey board, FIH CEO Thierry Weil said the 20 weeks requested was 'unacceptable' to the world body.

In the letter, the FIH CEO wrote:

"We refer to your email on 22nd July, in which you mentioned that you will facilitate amendments to the Constitution, holding of elections and handing over the affairs to the democratically elected body within 20 weeks from the date of Judgement. In this regard, we consider that to be an unsatisfactory reply."

The letter continued:

"We would like to reiterate once again that FIH cannot accept this turnaround time of 20 weeks. Please be advised that the Constitution's amendments and its adoption, as well as the holding of the elections to the Executive Board of Hockey India, will have to be held promptly."

FIH seeks detailed timeline from Hockey India

Last week, the FIH sought a 'detailed timeline' from the CoA on the adoption of the amended constitution and the holding of fresh elections in Hockey India.

If the hockey administration does not adopt a sports code-compliant constitution at the earliest, the country runs the risk of losing its hosting rights for the 2023 World Cup.

A three-member FIH delegation, led by newly-appointed acting president Seif Ahmed, is also expected to visit India on August 15. They will hold an emergency meeting to assess progress made with regards to the adoption of a new Constitution, which is a must to salvage the nation's chances of hosting the World Cup.

Weil has also said that the FIH is still hopeful of hosting the World Cup in India. However, if things don't work out during next month's visit, a ban on the Indian hockey administration is a possibility.