Volleyball world body FIVB on Tuesday revoked the recognition of the Volleyball Federation of India for violating “legal and administrative requirements”, days after two senior players left the national camp due to “poor and unscientific equipment” and “politics” in selection.
The FIVB has constituted a management committee comprising representatives from the world body and the Indian Olympic Association to safeguard the sport in the country and look after the welfare of the athletes.
“In accordance with Articles 1.5.3 and 1.9.1 of the FIVB General Regulations, the FIVB Board of Directors has decided that the Interim Management of the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) did not respect the legal and administrative requirements set by the FIVB,” the world body said in a statement.
“As such, the provisional recognition of the VFI has been revoked with immediate effect and has given interim administrative powers to the Management Committee – comprising representatives of the FIVB and the Indian Olympic Association – to ensure the uninterrupted continuation of volleyball activities in India.” The FIVB said the welfare and support of athletes remains its top priority and to that end a management committee has been mandated to ensure continuity, stability and sound governance during the transition period.
“Their responsibilities include the following court-ordered areas: the establishment of the Athletes’ Commission, the conduct of state association elections and the alignment of the VFI constitution with the applicable legal and administrative frameworks.
“The Steering Committee will continue to work to implement transparent merit-based national team selection, coordinate upcoming international and national competitions, and provide technical and high-performance support through the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program, including the deployment of international coaching expertise.
“Through this programme, the FIVB will contribute USD 258,000 in 2026 to support athletes and develop the national team across gender and disciplines in India, reaffirming its commitment to a stronger and more transparent future for Indian volleyball.” Interestingly, the VFI’s operations were being overseen by a management committee comprising IOA and FIVB officials until Tuesday, which granted the Indian body only provisional eight-month recognition subject to compliance with administrative norms.
The Steering Committee consisted of IOA Executive Board Member Rohit Rajpal, CEO Raghuram Lyer, FIVB Chief Sports Officer Steve Tutton, FIVB Head of Legal Affairs and General Counsel Stephen Bock and Hitesh Malhotra.
On 12 April, Indian volleyball was thrown into turmoil when two senior players left the national camp in Ahmedabad due to “incompetent coaches”, the dismissal of foreign coach Dragan Mihailovic, “poor and unscientific equipment” at the camp venue and “politics” in selection.
Anand K, libero (defensive position) and middle blocker John Joseph left the camp after their confidential communication with the IOA was leaked to the VFI seeking better facilities at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) center in Ahmedabad.
The VFI, for its part, rejected the allegations, calling them “politics at play”. Speaking to PTI, Anand said they were asked to apologize and rejected “seven to eight emails”, complaining about various concerns, which they refused, despite the “imminent risk of a ban from the VFI”.
“It will be terrible for our career, but the fact is we shouldn’t be playing like this. There is no analysis, no recovery, the coaches don’t know anything, they are living in the 50s. The one who made the difference (Dragan Mihailovic of Serbia) was removed for no clear reason.
“We were an unranked team but we finished second in the Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) tournament in Uzbekistan last year. We have to improve, every country is developing, but we are going down when we do things like this.
“Everybody in the camp feels the same, but they’re not willing to talk like John and I are,” he added.
The VFI said it was not aware of the two players leaving the camp, but denied they had been forced.
Ahmedabad will host the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Men’s Cup from June 20 to 28 at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Naranpura where 12 countries are expected to participate.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
22 Apr 2026 09:06 IST
