Hockey India League has called an emergency executive board meeting on September 18 to resolve differences among its top officials and discuss restructuring the struggling Hockey India League, including the creation of an independent governing council.
HI President Dilip Tirkey and Secretary Bhola Nath Singh have not been on the same page following the controversy over the change of the Indian team’s jersey colour from blue to saffron.
Tirkey said the jersey change was done without his knowledge and without the consent of the HI executive board. Subsequently, a show-cause notice was also issued to the Director General Cdr RK Srivastava, who was stripped of his powers with immediate effect, listing eight charges, with the jersey change being the prominent one.
The notice issued by Tirkey gave Srivastava four weeks to submit his reply.
“On the advice/direction of the Hockey India President, Dr Dilip Tirkey, received via email dated 14.09.2026, the Emergent – 119th Executive Board Meeting of Hockey India will be held at 15:00 hrs on 18.09.2026 at the Hockey India Office, New Delhi,” Bhola Nath wrote in an e-mail to Executive Board members.
The future of the Hockey India League for both men and women depends majorly on the discussions made during the meeting on September 18th.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a meeting with Tirkey and Hockey India League franchise owners on Monday and instructed them to create a roadmap for the league, with a five-member panel tasked with proposing a governance and financing model.
According to reports, the franchise owners had demanded a new governance structure for HIL, where they would have a seat at the table, as they were not happy with the way the league was being handled.
“Discussion regarding restructuring of HIL with regard to HIL to be run as a joint venture along with Team Franchises. Formation of HIL Pvt Ltd as a separate entity/company, with equity of 40:60 per cent equity of HIL and Franchise,” Bhola Nath email read.
Among other agendas of the meeting will be discussions related to hosting of Men’s and Women’s Asian Champions Trophy this year in Punjab and Bhopal.
Besides, the date for the Hockey India elections as per Hockey India by laws will also be finalized, and consideration and approval of the appointment of electoral officer for conducting and supervising the said elections will also be decided.
Discussions on the balance sheet, income and expenditure account, along with the schedules and the notes to accounts for the financial year 2025-2026 by HIL will also be deliberated.
The notice served to Srivastava by Tirkey through his lawyer will also be up for a dialogue.