CHENNAI: Finally, the All India Football Federation elections are here. Even though the odds are loaded in favour of former India footballer Kalyan Chaubey, football legend Bhaichung Butia’s camp is expecting a close contest. Since Chaubey, a ruling party BJP leader from West Bengal had been proposed by Gujarat State Football Association and seconded by Arunachal Pradesh Football Association, aficionados believe the signs are obvious.
However, Bhutia has been maintaining that he would garner some support from football enthusiasts. During an interview with this daily last week, he said that since he has enough experience as a footballer and as an administrator, he stood a good chance of gaining significant support. “I thoroughly deserve to be the president,” he had said last Sunday.
“I feel this is a great opportunity to usher in a change in Indian football and its management.” Chaubey, on the other hand, preferred to keep silent. There are other indications as to who are supporting whom too and even here it’s Chaubey who is supposed to have the numbers. And Football Delhi chief Shaji Prabhakaran, who is seen as an influential official, has proposed the name of NA Haris of Karnataka State Football Association for the post of vice president, and it is seconded by Arunachal. Manvendra Singh of Rajasthan Football Association entered the fray and will challenge Haris.
The election too had gone through some rough waters. The original plan proposed by the Committee of Administrators had to be shelved after the international football federation (FIFA) suspended AIFF on the ground of third-party interference and took away India’s rights to host the U-17 Women’s World Cup. Interestingly, the sports ministry had to step in and defuse the situation.
The fresh dates were announced and the Supreme Court extended the deadline for the elections by a week. In the final stretch, Indian football seems to be waiting for a new dawn. A lot of permutations and combinations have been worked out and negotiations have entered the final round. With one party hoping for a close contest, things would be interesting on election day.
The candidates
President: Bhaichung Bhutia, Kalyan Chaubey; Vice President: NA Haris, Manvendra Singh; Treasurer: Kipa Ajay, Gopalakrishna Kosaraju; Executive Committee: GP Palguna, Avijit Paul, Anilkumar P, Valanka Natasha Alemao, Maloji Raje Chhatrapati, Menla Ethenpa, Mohan Lal, Arif Ali, K Neibou Sekhose, Lalnghinglova Hmar, Deepak Sharma, Vijay Bali, Syed Imtiaz Husain, Syed Hasnain Ali Naqvi.