Winds of change were blowing over the All India Football Federation on the eve of its polls as the sports body braced up to elect a former player as its president for the first time in its 85-year-old existence.
In Friday’s elections for the post of AIFF president, 45-year-old Bhaichung Bhutia, one of the biggest legends in Indian football, will have a straight fight with former Mohun Bagan and East Bengal goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey.
While Bhutia’s candidature has got the election more traction than it would have got if he was not in the fray, Chaubey, also 45, is believed to be the front-runner for the top job with backing from politically important state associations like Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh.
