AIFF member states 'nudged' to stay united for polls?
NEW DELHI: Is this the endgame in the All India Football Federation elections saga, Indian football's night without end, as we know it?
After rallying forces and standing united - unprecedented perhaps in the history of the Indian game -- to ensure the ouster of Praful Patel and despite facing vilification and questions on their intent, AIFF's 36 member states, it is reliably learnt, could be announcing their election panel with an aim towards an unanimous verdict in the September 2 elections next week. The question, however, is if they would have liked it this way.
As the AIFF wrote to FIFA on Tuesday, seeking a swift lifting of the ban since all their conditions had duly been met, the member states called for a meeting in the Capital on Wednesday. While many members wondered at the sudden announcement, especially since fresh nominations are yet to be filed, one state official told TOI that "Sacrifice will be the overriding theme at the meeting."
It is highly possible that Kalyan Chaubey, BJP leader from Bengal, a former goalkeeper, 1990s Tata Football Academy graduate and son-in-law of the late Anjan Mitra, the long-running Mohun Bagan executive, could be presented Wednesday as the unanimous presidential candidate, give or take the stray objection. The aim now, as per some members, is to help Chaubey get elected uncontested. Member states have been hinting at the sudden political interest backing Chaubey's candidature, especially given that the U-17 women's World Cup is just a month away, and of the quiet instructions to ensure that he is through.
Chaubey told TOI that he would be meeting with the state members on Wednesday. "I will be filing the nominations as before," he said. When he first filed his nomination from Gujarat last week, backed by the Arunachal football body in the previous list of nominations, he had told TOI that he was looking to "move forward with like-minded people".
His passage and manner of entry has ensured a highly altered scenario for the member states. While there could be a question over the Treasurer's post - the Arunachal chief being a frontrunner -- it remains to be seen if Bengal even finds a place in the Executive Committee this time. Incidentally, the Indian Football Association president, Ajit Banerjee is chief minister Mamata Banerjee's brother.
Chaubey's entry could also imply a rejig of the previous presidential nominations, notably NA Haris from Karnataka and Delhi's Shaji Prabhakaran.
While sources say that Haris could opt for the vice-presidential post - just one in the new Executive Committee as against five previously -- Prabhakaran's role in the recent legal deliberations and preparations and overall organizational skills have marked him out as a leading candidate for the post of general secretary (or CEO, as is also being mooted).
It must be remembered that the post of the general secretary is a paid appointment within the FIFA statutes, and while Prabhakaran was seen as a leading presidential candidate, the new position is being seen as a "upgrade" given the Football Delhi's chief's technical know-how and crucially, access within the AFC and FIFA's operational circles. "One has to be practical in life," a member told TOI, alluding to Prabhakaran's apparent adjustment amid instructions from "higher above" of the changed power equations.
Under the new structure, the executive committee of AIFF will have 23 officials: 17 members (inclusive of the President, a Treasurer and one Vice- President). Six members shall be drawn from eminent players list. The top four in men and top two in women will be co-opted but no two players will be from the same state.
