Indian volleyball stands at the edge of an institutional collapse. What should have been a year of rebuilding after years of suspension and international exclusion has instead turned into a full-blown governance disaster.
The Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) responsible for managing the sport at every level is now paralyzed by internal conflict, bureaucratic negligence, and regulatory non-compliance that threaten to erase years of player development. The current impasse between the Interim Executive Committee (EC) and the FIVB–IOA Steering Committee (SC) has crippled operations to such an extent that the national women’s teams have been unable to participate in key international events.
The most damaging consequence came this year when India’s U19 Women’s Team was denied entry to the CAVA Women’s U19 Championship. This administrative blunder rooted not in lack of funding or talent, but in governance dysfunction has effectively robbed an entire generation of Indian players of their global stage.
The roots of the crisis run deep. The VFI was suspended by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) in 2019 due to “perpetual infighting, proxy voting, and unprofessional management.” For years, athletes were left uncertain about team selections, certificates, and even tournament entries. In an attempt to restore normalcy, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) oversaw elections in June 2024 to form an Interim Executive Committee led by Virender Kanwar.
However, this interim status came with conditions it was to function under court oversight and in close coordination with the Steering Committee formed by the FIVB and IOA to ensure compliance with the National Sports Development Code of India (2011).
Those reforms included:
- 25% reservation for sportspersons in the Executive Committee,
- elimination of proxy voting, and
- establishment of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to safeguard female athletes.
Yet, within months, the Interim Body turned hostile to the Steering Committee, refusing cooperation, blocking directives, and halting key administrative processes. This non-cooperation not only undermined the IOA’s authority but also exposed the structural rot personal egos prioritized over athlete welfare, and political power struggles overshadowing the sport’s survival.
The direct fallout of this power tussle has been devastating. Due to administrative deadlock, the VFI missed the entry deadline for the CAVA U19 Women’s Championship, automatically disqualifying India from the 2025 U19 World Championship. The implications are staggering. Dozens of promising players, many from modest backgrounds, spent years training for this opportunity. Their dreams of representing India on the world stage were extinguished not by defeat on the court, but by a failure to submit a form.
What makes this negligence even more damning is that the men’s U19 team did participate successfully in their corresponding championship under the management of the VFI Adhoc Committee. This proves that the administrative capacity existed it was simply not extended to the women’s program. The selective failure underscores a troubling pattern of gender disparity in decision-making and prioritization.
For the affected players, the consequences are lifelong. Missing such events means losing international exposure, global ranking points, and sports quota eligibility for universities and government jobs. For a young athlete, it’s not just a missed tournament it’s a missed future.
The Looming Catastrophe: AVC U16 Women’s Championship
The crisis is far from over. India had already qualified for the AVC U16 Women’s Championship, scheduled in Amman, Jordan (Nov 1–8, 2025) a key qualifying event for the 2026 U17 World Championship. Yet, as deadlines approach, the same governance paralysis threatens another no-show.
Under Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) regulations, last-minute withdrawals attract fines up to US$20,000. Failure to pay this penalty results in automatic international suspension until dues are cleared. Given the VFI’s current financial opacity and frozen accounts, the risk of non-payment and thus, a complete international ban is dangerously real. Should that happen, Indian volleyball would face dual exclusion already suspended domestically since 2019, it would now be shut out globally as well. Such a scenario would effectively erase India from the international volleyball map for years.
In the first match Indian Girls have conceded the tie 0-3 which reflects that we may not have made the trip to Jordan.
While administrators trade statements and legal threats, athletes bear the brunt. Without international participation, young players lose ranking opportunities and mental motivation. The psychological damage of training for tournaments that never happen is severe. This erosion of trust between athletes and administrators is perhaps the most corrosive legacy of the VFI crisis. For women’s volleyball, which has long fought for visibility and investment, this breakdown comes at the worst possible time just as the sport was beginning to find traction in schools and corporate sponsorships.
The FIVB and AVC have long treated India as a potential growth market for volleyball. But repeated mismanagement, even under international oversight, has severely damaged credibility. International isolation also affects funding. Without trust from global bodies, India risks losing access to FIVB’s Volleyball Empowerment Programme, which funds grassroots infrastructure and coaching development. For a sport already struggling for visibility, that could be a death blow.
The Road Ahead: A Blueprint for Recovery
There remains a narrow window for rescue, but it demands immediate, decisive action. Experts recommend:
- Granting Emergency Powers to the Steering Committee: The MYAS and IOA must legally empower the SC to submit all international entries and manage competition finances, bypassing the non-compliant Interim Body.
- Enforcing Constitutional Reform: Within 30 days, the Interim Body must submit amendments incorporating athlete representation, gender equity, and ICC formation.
- Independent Grievance Redressal: An external cell, independent of VFI, must verify athlete documentation and issue delayed participation certificates.
- Financial AccountabilityL All VFI funds must be placed under IOA financial control to ensure compliance and timely payment of AVC fines.
- Fresh Elections Under Sports Code Compliance: A definitive timeline must be set for new, code-compliant elections, ensuring leadership that values athletes over administration.
Indian volleyball’s future now hinges on whether its administrators can put athletes before authority. The sport that once produced continental medalists is being hollowed out by its own custodians. The failure to send a women’s team to a world-qualifying event is not merely an administrative lapse it’s a betrayal of responsibility. Without immediate reform, the next headlines will not be about missed tournaments but about an entire sport’s disappearance from international relevance.
India’s volleyball players have always shown fight on the court. It’s time the system that governs them learned to do the same.
