# Bye-laws of the Uttar Pradesh American Football Association (U.P.A.F.A.) **Status: DRAFT — v0.1 — not yet adopted by the General Body** *This is a working draft prepared as a starting structure. It must be reviewed by legal counsel familiar with the Societies Registration Act / applicable registration statute and Indian sports governance norms before being placed before the General Body for adoption.* --- ## Preamble These Bye-laws supply the operational detail beneath the Constitution of U.P.A.F.A. Where these Bye-laws and the Constitution conflict, the Constitution prevails. Where these Bye-laws and the Elections Policy, Standing Committees Charter, Code of Conduct, or Anti-Doping & Safeguarding Policy conflict on a matter within that document's specific subject, the more specific document prevails, provided it is not inconsistent with the Constitution. Terms defined in Article 3 of the Constitution carry the same meaning here. Amounts stated in these Bye-laws are in Indian Rupees (₹) unless stated otherwise. --- ## Chapter 1 — Membership: Categories, Fees, and Procedure ### 1.1 Membership fee schedule The following annual fee schedule applies as of adoption of these Bye-laws, per Constitution Article 4.4: | Membership category | Annual fee | |---|---| | District Association (District Member) | ₹11,560 | | Club Member | ₹6,870 | | Individual (Ordinary Member) | ₹1,750 | | Life Member | ₹38,900 (one-time, non-recurring) | 1.2. Fees are payable in advance for the financial year (1 April – 31 March) in which membership or affiliation is sought or renewed. A District Association or Club affiliating partway through a financial year pays the full annual fee for that year; no pro-rating applies unless the Executive Committee resolves otherwise for a specific case. 1.3. This fee schedule may be revised by General Body resolution at any AGM or SGM without amending the Constitution, per Constitution Article 4.4. Any revision takes effect from the start of the next financial year unless the resolution states otherwise. 1.4. Life Membership is granted by Executive Committee resolution, on nomination by any two Executive Committee members or by written request of the individual supported by at least one Executive Committee member, in recognition of distinguished contribution to American Football, sports administration, or U.P.A.F.A. The Executive Committee's decision on a Life Membership nomination is final and need not be accompanied by reasons. ### 1.2 Application and affiliation procedure 1.5. An individual seeking Ordinary Membership applies through the Association's registration portal, supplying name, date of birth, district, category (player, referee, or coach, as applicable), a recent photograph, and proof of identity, and pays the prescribed fee. Applications are reviewed and approved or rejected by the relevant District Admin (or, where no District Admin is assigned, a Super Admin) per the process in the Code of Conduct and the technical registration flow it describes. 1.6. A Club seeking Club Member affiliation applies in writing to the District Unit within whose territory it operates, supplying the club's name, address, office bearers, and an undertaking to be bound by the Constitution, these Bye-laws, and the Code of Conduct. The District Unit forwards the application with its recommendation to the Executive Committee, which decides on affiliation within 60 days of receipt. 1.7. A District Association seeking recognition as a District Unit applies directly to the Executive Committee, supplying evidence of a functioning district-level administrative structure, a designated District Secretary/Administrator, and an undertaking to be bound by the Constitution and these Bye-laws. Recognition, suspension, and dissolution of District Units follow Constitution Article 8.4. 1.8. Membership and affiliation lapse automatically if the annual fee is not paid within 60 days of the start of the financial year, subject to a written reminder being sent at least 15 days before lapse. A lapsed member or affiliate is reinstated on payment of the outstanding fee, without penalty, within the same financial year. 1.9. A member or District Unit may resign by written notice to the Secretary General. Resignation does not extinguish fees already due, nor does it affect the validity of a certificate already issued to that member, which continues to be governed by its own terms until expiry or revocation. ### 1.3 Membership rights and responsibilities 1.10. Members in good standing are entitled to: participate in Association-sanctioned competitions, coaching clinics, and certification programs applicable to their category; receive notice of and vote at General Body meetings to the extent provided in Constitution Article 5.1; stand for election subject to the Elections Policy; and raise grievances under the Code of Conduct. 1.11. Members are responsible for: keeping their registration information current; complying with the Constitution, these Bye-laws, the Code of Conduct, and the Anti-Doping & Safeguarding Policy; paying fees when due; and, for District Units and Clubs, ensuring that individuals registering through them meet the Association's eligibility criteria. --- ## Chapter 2 — Meetings of the General Body 2.1. Notice of an AGM shall be circulated to all voting members at least 21 days in advance, together with the agenda, the previous year's minutes, and the audited accounts to be presented. Notice of an SGM shall be circulated at least 14 days in advance, together with the specific agenda item(s) for which it was called; an SGM shall transact no business other than what was notified. 2.2. If quorum (Constitution Article 5.3) is not met within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time, the meeting stands adjourned to a date not less than 7 and not more than 21 days later, with the same agenda. At the reconvened meeting, the members present, regardless of number, constitute quorum. 2.3. Voting at General Body meetings is by show of hands or, if any voting member requests it before voting begins, by secret ballot. The Election Officer or presiding officer's count is final subject to Article 4 (Election Disputes) of the Elections Policy, where the vote concerns an election. 2.4. Minutes of every General Body meeting shall be recorded by the Secretary General (or a member designated by the presiding officer), circulated to all voting members within 30 days, and confirmed at the next General Body meeting. --- ## Chapter 3 — Financial Governance and Audit 3.1. The financial year is 1 April to 31 March (Constitution Article 3). 3.2. All Association funds are held in one or more bank accounts operated jointly by the Secretary General and the Treasurer (Constitution Article 10.1). The Executive Committee shall, by resolution, fix a transaction limit above which the President's additional approval is required; this limit shall be reviewed at least once per term. 3.3. The Treasurer shall present quarterly income and expenditure statements to the Executive Committee and an annual statement of accounts to the AGM, audited by an independent chartered accountant appointed by the Executive Committee and ratified by the General Body. 3.4. **Procurement and expenses — approval matrix.** | Amount | Approval required | |---|---| | Up to ₹1,00,000 | Secretary General, in the ordinary course of administration | | ₹1,00,001 – ₹3,00,000 | Joint approval of the Secretary General and Treasurer | | Above ₹3,00,000 | Prior Executive Committee approval, with at least three competitive quotations wherever practicable | | Above ₹10,00,000 | Prior Executive Committee approval through a transparent tender or Request for Proposal (RFP) process, unless the Executive Committee declares an emergency or determines that only a sole supplier is available | In an emergency affecting athlete safety, a competition already underway, legal compliance, or the continuity of U.P.A.F.A.'s operations, the Secretary General may authorize urgent expenditure beyond these limits, provided the reasons are recorded in writing at the time and the expenditure is placed before the Executive Committee for ratification at its next meeting. 3.5. No Executive Committee member, Standing Committee member, or employee may participate in a decision to award Association business to an entity in which they or a close relative (spouse, parent, child, or sibling) hold a financial interest, without first declaring the interest per the Code of Conduct's Conflict of Interest provisions and recusing themselves from the decision. 3.6. Reimbursable expenses (travel, accommodation, and incidentals incurred on Association business) require prior authorization from the Treasurer or President and are reimbursed against original receipts within 30 days of submission. --- ## Chapter 4 — Records Retention and Document Management 4.1. The Association maintains, at minimum, the following categories of records: the Association's own constitutional and registration records; financial books of account and vouchers; General Body and Executive Committee minutes; membership and affiliation records; registration and certification records (including issued certificate IDs, issue and expiry dates, and revocation records); election records; and disciplinary and grievance records. 4.2. **Retention periods:** - The Association's constitutional and registration records (Constitution, Bye-laws, and other governance documents as adopted, and the Societies Registration Act certificate and filings): **permanently**. - General Body and Executive Committee minutes: **permanently**. - Financial statements and audit reports: **permanently**. - Vouchers, bills, receipts, and bank statements: **8 years** from the end of the relevant financial year, consistent with standard Indian statutory practice for societies and non-profits. *(To be confirmed against current Income Tax Act and Societies Registration Act requirements by the Association's auditor before adoption.)* - Election records: **8 years** from the date of the election. - General membership and affiliation records (a member's or District Unit's/Club's registration and fee history): **7 years** after membership or affiliation ends. - Disciplinary and grievance records: **8 years** from the date the matter is closed, or permanently if the outcome was revocation or expulsion. - Records of an **issued certificate** specifically (registration data tied to a certificate ID, issue/expiry dates, revocation record if any) are an exception to the general membership-record period above and are kept **permanently**, and never deleted, regardless of whether the underlying membership later ends — the Association's verification system is designed so that a certificate's public verification link continues to resolve correctly for as long as the certificate ID exists in the system, including after expiry, revocation, or the holder's membership lapsing. Deleting an issued certificate's record would break that guarantee. - Records of a **rejected or withdrawn** application that never resulted in an issued certificate: **3 years** from the date of rejection or withdrawal, after which they may be purged. 4.3. Records containing personal data (identity proof, photographs, contact details) are subject to the data protection provisions in Chapter 6 in addition to these retention periods. --- ## Chapter 5 — Intellectual Property and Use of the U.P.A.F.A. Name and Logo 5.1. The name "Uttar Pradesh American Football Association," the initialism "U.P.A.F.A.," and the Association's official logo and marks are the property of the Association. 5.2. District Units and Clubs in good standing may use the U.P.A.F.A. name and logo to identify their affiliation (e.g., "U.P.A.F.A.-affiliated"), but may not use them in a manner suggesting they speak for or bind the Association, and may not alter the logo, without prior written permission from the Executive Committee. 5.3. Use of the name or logo for commercial sponsorship, merchandise, or fundraising requires prior written approval of the Executive Committee. Approval may be withdrawn if the using party's conduct is inconsistent with the Code of Conduct. 5.4. On suspension, dissolution, or resignation of a District Unit or Club, all rights to use the name and logo cease immediately. --- ## Chapter 6 — Data Privacy 6.1. In the course of registration, certification, and administration, the Association collects personal data from applicants and members, including name, date of birth, contact details, photographs, and identity proof documents, and stores it in the Association's registration system. This data is processed for the purposes of registration review, certificate issuance and verification, and administration of membership — and for no other purpose without the individual's consent, except where disclosure is required by law. 6.2. Access to personal data within the registration system is role-based: a District Admin can see applications and certificates for their own district; a Super Admin can see all districts; a Content Editor has no access to registration or certificate data. The Association shall not expand access beyond what a person's administrative role requires. 6.3. The public certificate verification page (`/verify`) shows only name, tier, district, issue date, expiry date, and status — never identity proof documents, addresses, or phone numbers — consistent with the minimum-disclosure principle in this Chapter. 6.4. An individual may request a copy of, or correction to, their own personal data held by the Association by writing to `grievance@upafa.in`. Requests are handled by the Secretary General within 30 days. 6.5. U.P.A.F.A. shall comply with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and any rules issued under it, as each is amended from time to time. The Executive Committee may adopt, amend, or replace a standalone Privacy & Data Protection Policy from time to time to maintain compliance with that Act and its rules, without requiring amendment of the Constitution or these Bye-laws; where such a Policy is in force, it governs over this Chapter to the extent of any inconsistency. 6.6. Retention of personal data follows Chapter 4 (Records Retention). Data relating to a rejected or withdrawn application is deleted or anonymized on the schedule in Article 4.2, not retained indefinitely. --- ## Chapter 7 — Social Media and Digital Communications 7.1. Only individuals authorized by the Executive Committee (or, for a District Unit's own accounts, its District Secretary/Administrator) may post on official U.P.A.F.A. or District Unit social media accounts and websites. 7.2. Anyone posting on an official account or in an official capacity shall not post content that violates the Code of Conduct, discloses another person's personal data without consent, or misrepresents Association positions as personal opinion or vice versa. 7.3. Photographs or video of minors may only be posted on official channels in accordance with the Anti-Doping & Safeguarding Policy's child protection provisions, including parental/guardian consent. --- ## Chapter 8 — Awards, Honors, and Recognition 8.1. The Executive Committee may institute annual awards recognizing achievement in playing, officiating, coaching, and administration, on criteria and a selection process it publishes in advance of each award cycle. 8.2. An award or recognition may be withdrawn if it later comes to light that the recipient's conduct at the relevant time violated the Code of Conduct or the Anti-Doping & Safeguarding Policy in a way that would have disqualified them. --- ## Chapter 9 — Transitional and Saving Provisions 9.1. On adoption of the Constitution and these Bye-laws, all persons then holding office in a manner consistent with the Constitution continue to hold that office for the remainder of the term for which they were originally selected, unless the Constitution's tenure limits (Article 6.4) would already have been exceeded, in which case the first election under Article 7 shall be held within 12 months of adoption. 9.2. Any act done, or decision taken, by U.P.A.F.A. or its office bearers before the adoption of the Constitution and these Bye-laws, in good faith and consistent with the Association's practice at the time, remains valid and is not affected by that adoption. 9.3. Where these Bye-laws are silent, Constitution Article 14.1 (general power of the Executive Committee to act in the spirit of the governing documents, subject to General Body ratification) applies. --- ## Chapter 10 — Amendment of these Bye-laws 10.1. These Bye-laws may be amended by a simple majority of the Executive Committee, subject to ratification by the General Body at its next meeting. Ratification may not be withheld arbitrarily but the General Body may reverse or modify any Bye-law amendment by the same majority required to adopt these Bye-laws in the first place. --- ## Annexure A — Membership / Registration Application (data fields) Full name; date of birth; gender; address; district; category (Player / Referee / Coach); photograph; government-issued identity proof; for Club Members, club name and address; for District Associations, District Secretary/Administrator name and contact details; declaration of acceptance of the Constitution, these Bye-laws, the Code of Conduct, and the Anti-Doping & Safeguarding Policy; signature and date. ## Annexure B — District / Club Affiliation Application (data fields) Applicant name (District Association or Club); address; date of formation; names and contact details of office bearers; territory/district served; supporting documents evidencing a functioning administrative structure; undertaking to be bound by the Constitution and Bye-laws; signature of the applicant's authorized representative and date.