What is Sports Passport? All you need to know

Sports Ministry sends Sports Passport proposal to the Government of India

The term “Sports Passport” has been in significant attention from the past couple of hours. As Khel Now exclusively reported that the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports have submitted a proposal to the Government of India seeking consideration of a Sports Passport framework.

This framework could potentially allow Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) and Person of India Origin (PIO) to represent the nation without likely acquiring the full citizenship.

But what exactly is the concept of Sports Passport? In this article we take a look at everything you need to know about it and which countries use a similar model.

What is the concept behind?

The idea of a Sports Passport has gained attention in India mainly because India doesn’t allow a dual citizenship and the struggles that various Indian national teams are going through at the international stage.

According to the Indian laws, an athlete of Indian Origin born outside India would usually need to acquire Indian citizenship and surrender their existing citizenship to become eligible to represent India, this is the same way Ryan Williams gave up his citizenship to play for Indian football team and Arata Izumi played for Indian football team previously.

A Sports Passport could offer an alternative fast track solution. Instead of giving full citizenship, the government could create a special status for athletes with Indian heritage, those with Indian parents or grandparents. The status could likely be limited to a sporting representation rather than the full rights.

Some countries grant a full citizenship through these accelerated processes, while others create limited sporting eligibility framework without giving all the rights that a common citizen would.

So, to put it simple, an athlete born in UK to Indian parents could potentially continue holding a British passport while receiving a sports passport from India. If recognised by international sporting bodies, this would allow the athlete to represent India at the global stage.

This could help improve the quality of national teams and enhance competitiveness at an international stage.

However, the proposal remains in its early stages, and there is still a long way to go before it becomes a reality.

If India eventually adopts a Sports Passport framework, it will be crucial to understand how the system operates and whether it gets recognised by international sporting bodies.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Sports Ministry sends Sports Passport proposal to PM Modi’s Office

Countries using the similar model

There are nations who have adopted to similar models that make it easier for athletes of their origin living outside a chance to represent them at the international level.

The closest ones are Qatar and Bahrain. Qatar is using a model which India could perhaps use. The Gulf nation has utilised special nationality pathways and sporting ways to allow athletes born abroad to represent them.

Indian origin Malayali footballer Tahsin Mohammed Jamshid, who was born and brought up in Qatar is a recent example who is going to represent them in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Several other nations like Turkey and even the likes of Morocco and Algeria do it, although there is dual citizenship allowed in such cases. Players like Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Diaz and Sofyan Amrabat are big examples of it.

Hakimi was born in Spain to Moroccan parents and opted to represent Morocco despite being eligible for Spain.

Brahim Diaz is another example who represented Spain at youth levels and even appeared for the senior team in a friendly before switching to Morocco, the country of his father in 2024.

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