Kerala to introduce new sports Bill to protect athletes, penalise violations

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is set to overhaul its sports governance with a new law aimed at curbing malpractice and discrimination, safeguarding athletes’ rights and imposing fines of up to ₹25 lakh for violations.

The Keralam Sports Bill, 2026, slated to be introduced in the Assembly soon, seeks to ensure the welfare and safety of sportspersons at competition venues and during training. It proposes fines ranging from ₹5 lakh to ₹25 lakh for violations of athletes’ rights. The Bill marks a sweeping overhaul of the state’s sports regulations after 26 years.

The draft, which is undergoing final scrutiny by the law department, has not yet been made public. It proposes stringent action against match-fixing, violations of rules, discrimination in selections, exploitation at training camps, doping, denial of benefits and irregularities in appointments to sports quota posts.

A sports tribunal headed by a retired High Court judge will be set up to hear complaints and appeals relating to such violations. Individuals or institutions found guilty of violating the rights of athletes will face fines, a portion of which will go towards compensating the affected sportspersons. The law will extend protection to athletes from the school level onwards.

Sports Authority of Kerala
Another key proposal in the draft Bill is to merge the Directorate of Sports under the sports department with the Kerala Sports Council, which receives government grants-in-aid, to form the Sports Authority of Kerala. The move aims to bring sports administration under a single agency, in line with the model adopted by other states. It would also effectively do away with the Sports Council system in Kerala.

The new agency will be headed by government-nominated representatives, with no elections to its governing body.

Online services
The draft Bill also proposes an online platform to issue merit certificates for sports competitions, verify certificates at the government level, and process applications for scholarships and financial assistance.

The initiative aims to eliminate middlemen and prevent the use of fake certificates. The previous LDF government had considered introducing online distribution of sports merit certificates in 2023 but dropped the proposal following protests from sports organisations.