Who runs football in J&K decides who gets trials, fixtures and a pathway to the next level. On November 5 it was reported that the J&K Football Association (JKFA) will hold fresh elections on November 25.
What happened?
The court of the 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Srinagar, last week directed the Secretary of the J&K Sports Council to hold JKFA elections within three weeks and to appoint a returning officer, according to advocate Sameer Hamid, who represented the petitioners. The petition was filed in 2023 seeking long-overdue elections; petitioners include former JKFA office-bearer Fayaz Ahmad Sofi and former India player Abdul Majeed Kakroo.
Why now?
The election of a new executive body is described as necessary to bring the UT's football governing body in line with the AIFF constitution and the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, which came into force on January 1, 2026.
Who was in the room?
Sofi said the Sports Council Secretary called a stakeholders' meeting on November 2, where the date was decided. It was attended by an AIFF delegation and more than 150 stakeholders from District Football Associations, zones and institutions of the Kashmir Valley and Jammu Province, and discussed the election process and voter eligibility.
What is not yet public
The report does not give the nomination schedule or final voter list. The Sports Council and JKFA have not been quoted in it. We will update when those are published.
