Mumbai, Jan. 14 -- Announcing a tiered eligibility criteria for the inclusion of Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM) in national federations, the sports ministry on Monday notified the rules for the implementation of the National Sports Governance Act. The rules outline the framework for the inclusion of at least four SOM - 50% of them women - with voting rights in the general body of national federations. It also outlined the election procedures and disqualification criteria for members of national and regional sports bodies. The eligibility criteria for sportspersons to be defined as SOM has been spread across 10 tiers, with descending order of achievements. An interested candidate must not be less than 25 years old, must have retired from active sports and "should have not participated in any competitive sport event which leads to selection to represent a district, State or India for at least one year prior to date of application", as per the rules. The top tier is for applicants who are Olympic medallists. Tier 2 is for athletes who have taken part in two or more Olympics, while Tier 3 is for those with at least one Olympic appearance. Tier 4 is for Khel Ratna or Arjuna Awardees. Tier 5 is for medallists at the World Championship "or equivalent competition", while Tier 6 is for those with medals at the CWG or Asian Games. The last 10th tier is for applicants with at least one medal at the National Games or a national championship. For those seeking inclusion in the National Olympic Committee, they must have passed the benchmark of the relevant tier "in an Olympic discipline only", stated the rules. The Act had been partially implemented at the start of the new year, while NSFs have been granted six months to amend their bylaws and comply with the new law. The rules also state that any person convinced by a court will remain disqualified from being a member of these bodies....