Boxing Federation of India in internal dispute over hosting World Cup Final

NEW DELHI: Boxing Federation of India (BFI) is facing an internal turmoil over the top leadership’s decision to host the sport’s World Cup Final in Nov 2025, with several key officials alleging that the announcement was made unilaterally without either informing the executive committee or convening a General Body Meeting (GBM) of members, TOI has learnt.
Earlier this month, BFI came out with a media release announcing India as host of the World Boxing Cup Final – a ranking tournament which will mark the culmination of three World Boxing Cups to be held in 2025. The hosting rights was offered by a Switzerland-headquartered breakaway body, World Boxing (WB), headed by Dutch Boris van der Vorst, to BFI president Ajay Singh during the recently-held World Boxing Congress.
The national federation officially severed all its ties with Russian Umar Kremlev-led International Boxing Association (IBA) around Sep-Oct this year, with Singh also resigning from the post of IBA’s vice president.
However, BFI’s first major announcement after becoming a permanent member of the World Boxing to host the tournament has been met with major resistance within the federation’s ranks.
TOI spoke to some of the federation officials, who alleged that the executive committee wasn’t taken into confidence with regards to such a major announcement. “It should have been discussed among members either by calling the EC meeting or convening the GBM. Neither of it was done. What about the financial part of hosting a World Cup and where the money is going to come from?” an official said.
Another official informed that a case has been filed at the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by the IBA against the BFI for dishonouring the ‘host city agreement’ for conducting the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last year. The member informed that IBA is seeking a compensation of Rs 5 crore from BFI and the first hearing into the matter is expected to be held next year.
“The case against the BFI was filed around Aug-Sep last year. BFI has been accused of dishonouring the host city contract. Since we are no longer part of the IBA and joined hands with World Boxing, the case has been filed to recover the money. The federation is already facing a huge liability of Rs 5 crore and we are announcing hosting the World Cup,” the official added.
Another official said that with the election to the new BFI EC due in March next year, the decision to host the World Cup or any other major international tournament should have been taken by the incoming office-bearers.