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HomeSportBJP’s Kalyan Chaubey defeats Bhaichung Bhutia to be AIFF president, first player...

BJP’s Kalyan Chaubey defeats Bhaichung Bhutia to be AIFF president, first player to hold post

Elections finally took place after two years but not before the AIFF faced a ban by FIFA for violating its statutes.

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New Delhi: Former India goalkeeper and BJP leader Kalyan Chaubey on Friday beat iconic India captain Bhaichung Bhutia 33-1 to be elected the president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

In the federation’s 85-year history, this was the first time a former player was elected president.

The elections took place after the Supreme Court on 22 August disbanded the court-appointed Committee of Administrators in order to revoke a FIFA ban on the country’s football body.

Unhappy with the CoA, the world governing body had banned the AIFF the week before citing “undue interference by third party” and stopped it from hosting the Under 17 Women’s World Cup in October.

FIFA lifted the ban on 26 August, after the apex court disbanded its three-member CoA, to “ensure that the prestige of the nation in holding the Under 17 Women’s World Cup is not affected and to enable players to participate in international events.”

A FIFA ban was on the cards when the Supreme Court removed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Praful Patel as AIFF president on 18 May for not holding elections, due in December 2020.

Patel had by then completed three terms or 12 years as the president of the AIFF. Twelve years is the maximum time permitted to a national sports federation (NSF) chief under the country’s sports code.

Praful Patel removed

In May 2022, after the elections of the AIFF were not called by the president for over two years, the Supreme Court removed Patel and his executive committee. A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, Surya Kant and P.S. Narasimha appointed the three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA) instead – comprising former election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, former player Bhaskar Ganguly and former apex court judge A.R. Dave.

The CoA held the first round of talks with FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in June 2022, in which a 12-member advisory committee to see the day-to-day matters of AIFF was formed. FIFA was assured of completing the sports body’s new constitution by 31 July, and elections by September end.

However, the 31 July deadline was missed to submit the constitution’s draft, prompting the top court to demand elections as soon as possible.

The CoA then named 36 eminent footballers with a 50 percent vote share in deciding the next AIFF president and the general body. FIFA, however, mandates not more than 25 percent representation of players and not less than 75 percent representation of state bodies constituting the AIFF in the elections.

An unhappy FIFA banned the AIFF on 16 August, saying: “The Bureau of the FIFA Council has unanimously decided to suspend the All India Football Federation (AIFF) with immediate effect due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes.”

Following the ban, the Supreme Court terminated the CoA’s mandate and restored the power to run day-to-day affairs with the federation. The world governing body lifted the ban four days later because the “AIFF administration had regained full control of the AIFF’s daily affairs”.

It also added: “FIFA and the AFC will continue to monitor the situation and will support the AIFF in organising its elections in a timely manner.”


Also read: 4 anti-India, anti-Hindu incidents in US in a month, Indian Americans say Hinduphobia on rise


 

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