CHENNAI: These are the best of times and the worst. Tamil Nadu football seems to be having it better than ever before. Chennai City FC are the I-League champs with a good dose of local players. Chennaiyin FC may have had a horror ISL, but they are playing in the AFC Cup. On the other hand, Tamil Nadu football is going through one of its worst administrative crises. Chennai is unable to hold its annual league thanks to administrative wrangles.
The CFA Senior and First Division leagues had started in March 2018. It’s April and there are no signs of the league this year. The root cause is a dispute between Chennai Football Association (CFA) and Tamil Nadu Football Association (TFA), with the latter disputing the elections in the district body held in mid-2018. It had brought football activities in the district to a standstill, with the state body even going as far as cutting electricity supply to the CFA office. In February, CFA chief Rohit Ramesh offered to resign. CFA secretary E Sugumaran maintains that his resignation is not yet accepted.
It is Sugumaran’s presence, though, that the TFA disputes with CFA. Soon after the polls, it circulated a statement saying the secretary was ineligible to contest. Sugumaran questions the legitimacy of the TFA regime and its president Jesiah Villavarayar (also an AIFF vice-president). Elections were last contested to the state body in September, 2014. That four-year term expired last year. “It has been more than six months and he has not held elections. How can someone whose own term expired try to dictate matters in the CFA?” asked a CFA official.
The body had its 83rd Annual Congress in February and conducted elections (a process disputed by many members). But members of Krishnagiri Football Association obtained an order from the Madras High Court preventing fresh elections. “Whoever got that interim order against us is not even a member. We didn’t know of the order before we conducted elections. But we expect a favourable verdict that will enable us to disclose the results and call an executive committee,” said Villavarayar.
After that, Villavarayar expects to deal with CFA. But the way he has dealt with dissenting districts has upset many. “Three districts under TFA are governed by ad-hoc committees put in place by Villavarayar. This is how he deals with dissenting voices. Today, the Madras HC ordered elections for the Coimbatore DFA,” said a CFA official. Villavarayar maintains that holding the league now would be contempt of court. Sugumaran remains hopeful of a verdict that would enable them to conduct the league.