Explained: The mounting troubles of AIFF and impact it could have on Indian football-Sports News , Firstpost

Indian Football fans had a lot to cheer in April as Mumbai City FC became the first club from the country to win a match in the prestigious AFC Champions League. But back home there’s a storm brewing in the corridors of All India Football Federation (AIFF) with the governing body descending into utter chaos.

The latest blow came on 27 April when it was reported that the Sports Ministry has slashed the funding for AIFF by almost 85 percent in the last four years. Earlier in April, the same ministry had said in the Supreme Court that current AIFF president Praful Patel has no mandate to hold office.

The list of problems is long for the Indian football’s governing body and the future, at least on the administrative front, looks uncertain for now which can have a devastating impact on the health of the game in the country. We take a look at the whole mess within AIFF and its impact.

What all is wrong at the AIFF?

Let’s start from the top.

The current president Patel completed his three terms of four years each, the maximum permitted to a sports federation chief under India’s National Sports Code, in December 2020, however, the AIFF did not hold fresh elections citing a pending petition over its constitution in the Supreme Court.

The petition over the AIFF’s constitution was filed just a month before the elections and it seeks clarification on the constitution which is under scrutiny in the Supreme Court since 2017.

While Patel continues to be the president of the AIFF, the Sports Ministry on 8 April, in relation to a Special Leave Petition filed against AIFF, in which the Union of India is also a respondent, in an affidavit told the Supreme Court that Patel and his committee has no right to hold onto their offices.

“It is submitted that as the term of the existing committee (of the AIFF) is already over, and the existing president (Patel) has completed more than 12 years as president, the Petitioner (AIFF) should hold elections without further delay as per extant instructions contained under Sports Code and the instructions issued by the Answering Respondent (sports ministry) from time to time,” the ministry said.

“That thus the tenure of an office bearer of the Petitioner, such as the president, who has already served 12 years as president of AIFF, will be in violation of the Sports Code, specifically clause 9.3 (iii) of the Sports Code read with the notification dated 01.05.2010.”

The ministry also indicated that the government recognition of AIFF could be denied for not adhering to the sports code.

“As the last elections held by the petitioner was on 21.12.2016, as such the Petitioner is required to conduct fresh elections. While recently the Answering Respondent renewed the Petitioner’s annual recognition for a year with effect from 23.10.2020, such recognition is subject to the outcome of the special leave petition pending before this honourable court,” it said.

Financial trouble

AIFF is also under severe financial pressure as the government has cut down its funding. According to a report in the Indian Express, under the Annual Calendar of Training and Competitions (ACTC), AIFF received Rs 30 crore for the 2019-20 financial year. That has now dropped to Rs 5 crore for 2022-23.

At the ACTC meeting, sports secretary Sujata Chaturvedi had remarked: “Considering the poor performance of the Indian football team, AIFF was advised to strictly focus on the development of grassroot-level talent.”

Molestation charges against general secretary

Also in April, AIFF general secretary Kushal Das was accused of molesting employees in the workplace. Former I-League club Minvera Punjab FC owner Ranjit Bajaj made the allegations against Das. They were outrightly rejected by the AIFF.

AIFF integrity office soon cleared Das of any wrongdoing and termed the allegations as “frivolous” in his report.

Javed Siraj, the integrity officer, said he came to the conclusion after conducting an inquiry that included speaking to the presiding officers of AIFF’s internal complaints committee over the years.

Why is AIFF’s constitution under scrutiny?

Let’s go back to the issue of AIFF’s constitution that has helped Patel remain the president. In 2017, Delhi High Court set aside the re-election of Patel as AIFF president in response to a writ petition that contested that AIFF did not adhere to the National Sports Code.

High Court’s decision was stayed by the Supreme Court and that allowed Patel to continue as the head of AIFF but the Apex Court had also appointed former Chief Election Commissioner of India S Y Quraishi and former national captain Bhaskar Ganguly as administrators to formulate the new AIFF constitution.

Quraishi in an interview with news agency PTI in 2020 claimed that the draft constitution was submitted to the Supreme Court in January month of 2020.

Why does Patel want to continue as AIFF president?

It has been widely reported in the media that Patel is aiming to continue as the president as it will make him eligible to contest for a spot in FIFA Council. The elections for that position will take place in 2023.

FIFA Council is the main decision-making body of the organisation in the intervals of the FIFA Congress. In 2019, Patel had become the first Indian to be elected to the prestigious panel.

The impact the whole mess could have?

In case the Supreme Court disqualifies the Patel-led executive committee and goes to form an ad-hoc committee to run the affairs at the AIFF, there’s a chance that the footballing body could face a ban from FIFA.

FIFA has always maintained a stand that its members must remain free of interference from the national government and judiciary. In 2017, Pakistan Football Federation was suspended after a court-appointed administrator took control of the sports body.

Besides the dwindling coffers will also impact the growth of the game in the country. The reduced financial freedom means AIFF will have lesser money to spend on its league and grassroots level development activities.

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