Sports

Indian Football In Chaos: Joint FIFA, AFC Team To Visit Country To 'Understand Current Situation'

The Supreme Court has appointed a three-member CoA headed by former top court judge AR Dave to manage the affairs of the AIFF.

This is the first time a CoA will take charge of the AIFF, unprecedented in its 85-year-old history.
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A joint team from FIFA and AFC is set to visit India to "understand the current situation" in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's order to constitute a Committee of Administrators (CoA) to run the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) day-to-day affairs. (More Football News)

A top source aware of the development in the AIFF told PTI that "FIFA and AFC's team will visit India, most probably in June, to basically understand the current situation arising out of the recent Supreme Court order". 

"Given the scenario, we are hoping that that there will be no ban on India for external interference, but they will discuss the matter and the implication," he added.

On May 12, the top court had agreed to hear a plea of the Delhi Football Club alleging the illegal continuation of a committee and Praful Patel as president of AIFF for over a decade.

On May 18, the SC appointed a three-member CoA headed by former top court judge AR Dave to manage the affairs of the AIFF and adoption of its constitution in line with the National Sports Code and model guidelines. 

As many as 25 state associations, affiliated to AIFF, virtually met on Saturday to discuss the current crisis in the federation and the general health of the sport in India.

After two-hour long deliberations, in which all members expressed their views and made valuable suggestions, the following resolution was unanimously passed:

1) State associations shall collectively work in suggesting necessary changes (objections) in the draft constitution of the AIFF, prepared by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) appointed by the honourable Supreme Court. 

2) A seven-member committee has been formed to study and make in-depth deliberations on all aspects of the draft constitution and make suggestions (objections) before submitting to CoA. 

The members are: Subrata Dutta (IFA), Shaji Prabhakaran (Delhi), K Satyanarayan (Karnataka), Vijay Bali (Punjab), Avijit Paul (Odisha),  Mulrajsinh Chudasama (Gujarat) and Lalnghinglova (Tetea) Hmar (Mizoram).

3) State FAs shall stay united to meet the ongoing crisis and work together to restore normalcy and take Indian football forward by strengthening all aspects of football with commitment and dedication.

4) Democratically-elected state bodies should not be ignored  by the parent body while organising any football activity in the respective states. All initiatives should go through the State FAs.