The Global Deaf Sports Federation Secretariat (GDSF) has called upon the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) to provide urgent clarification regarding the status of National Deaf Sports Federations previously suspended in connection with football-related debts arising from competitions organised by the Deaf International Football Association (DIFA).
The request follows the recent and publicly announced separation between ICSD and DIFA, a development that has left several national federations in a state of uncertainty. Prior to the separation, a number of National Deaf Sports Federations had been suspended by ICSD specifically due to outstanding financial obligations linked to DIFA tournaments and activities.
With the formal dissolution of ties between the two bodies, questions have now emerged as to whether those suspensions remain legally and operationally enforceable.
In its statement, the GDSF Secretariat respectfully requested that ICSD issue an official position on four critical points:
1. Validity of existing suspensions: Whether suspensions previously imposed for DIFA-related football debts remain in effect following the separation between ICSD and DIFA.
2. Jurisdictional authority: Whether ICSD retains the power to enforce such suspensions, or whether that authority now belongs exclusively to DIFA.
3. Reinstatement conditions: Whether affected national federations are still required to settle outstanding football-related debts as a prerequisite for being reinstated within ICSD.
4. Formal policy directive: Whether ICSD intends to publish a formal resolution or procedural directive outlining the rights, obligations, and reinstatement pathway for affected member federations.
The GDSF underscored that these matters bear directly upon the governance of deaf sport, the eligibility of athletes to compete internationally, and the fundamental principles of fairness and transparency.
Without a clear and authoritative position from ICSD, national federations risk being left in prolonged administrative limbo, potentially excluding deaf footballers from competition due to debts they may or may not still be responsible for under the new institutional arrangement.