AFI imposes sponsorship approvals

India’s athletics federation now requires athletes to get approval before signing sponsorship or other third-party contracts, formalizing federation oversight of private commercial deals. (indianathletics.in) The Athletics Federation of India issued the directive on April 2, 2026, in Circular No. 40/04-2026, signed by officiating secretary G. Srinibas Patnaik. It says athletes must obtain “prior approval” before entering any agreement with a sponsor or third party. (indianathletics.in) The circular was sent to affiliated state units, chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair, and sponsor-backed programs including Reliance Foundation Youth Sports, JSW Sports, ONGC Sports, Go Sports Foundation and Olympic Gold Quest. It also tells sponsors to confirm with the federation that approval was obtained, and says the federation will respond within three days. (sportstar.thehindu.com) The federation says the change follows “increasing instances” of athletes and coaches frequently changing sponsors. In public comments after criticism, Athletics Federation of India officials said the review is meant to protect athletes from one-sided clauses and unclear payment terms. (indianathletics.in) (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Adille Sumariwalla, an ex officio member of the federation and its former president, told The Times of India that many athletes cannot parse long contracts and may sign away rights or income without understanding the terms. He said the federation would approve acceptable deals in two to three days and mediate disputes if needed. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Until now, Indian athletes generally negotiated endorsements on their own or through agents, with restrictions mostly tied to specific events or official team sponsorship conflicts. Lawyers quoted by The Indian Express said those limits were narrower than a standing federation approval rule covering all sponsor contracts. (indianexpress.com) That distinction matters because Olympic and world-event marketing rules usually target use of athletes in advertising during competition windows, not the basic right to sign a sponsorship contract at all. The International Olympic Committee’s Rule 40 framework, for example, allows athletes to enter personal sponsorship and endorsement contracts before, during or after the Games, while regulating how those sponsors can advertise around the event. (olympics.com 1) (olympics.com 2) Critics say that gives the new Athletics Federation of India rule a much wider reach into athletes’ personal earning arrangements. Sports lawyers cited by The Indian Express argued that a national sports federation may struggle to justify control over private contracts unless the terms directly clash with competition rules or federation sponsors. (indianexpress.com) The federation has also signaled that this is not just advisory. Sumariwalla told The Times of India that athletes who sign deals without informing the federation could face disciplinary proceedings, even as he said an athlete could still choose to sign a contract after federation objections are raised. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The immediate test is whether athletes, agents and sponsors treat the three-day review as a safeguard or as a gatekeeping step in a market that has grown around stars such as Neeraj Chopra. For now, the rule is in force, and every new athletics sponsorship deal in India is supposed to pass through the federation first. (sportstar.thehindu.com) (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)