AIFF Media Team
MARGAO: Mr. Praful Patel, President, All India Football Federation Chaired AIFF’s Annual General Body Meeting which was held at Hotel Ramada, Goa on Sunday (December 20, 2015).
Besides Mr. Patel, AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das, Vice-Presidents Mr. Subrata Dutta, Mr. Subhash Chopra, Mr. Shrinivas Dempo, AIFF Executive Committee Members and members from Member Associations (except Haryana and Nagaland) also attended the Meeting, as did the two affiliated units – SSCB and RSPB.
Speaking on the occasion, the AIFF President mentioned that it is time for all the State Associations to become “more accountable.”
“I feel many States are not doing enough. If Indian Football as a whole has to grow, we need more wholehearted support and participation,” he added. “We will soon be going to rank the States much like the Licensing criteria which is in existence for the I-League Clubs. There has to be accountability from all the State Associations,” he informed.
“AIFF is the custodian of Football in India and we are here to give a direction to Indian Football. For that, all the States need to move in sync,” he stated.
Mentioning that the idea is to take the game to all corners of the Country, Mr. Patel lauded the support and supply line of Players from the North East Region of the Country.
“North East is the backbone of Indian Football at the moment. Furthermore, if you look at Kashmir, there were around 18000 people cheering for LoneStar FC when they played their Home matches in the 2nd Division League. The diversification of Football is so positive,” he opined.
“One of the primary reasons for bidding for the 2017 U-17 World Cup was to start a new Footballing Culture in the Country. We have made a beginning and hope it will usher in a new era and give a new dimension to the sport in the Country.”
Mr. Patel also stressed on developing an “ecosystem for Football.”
“We have introduced an U-15 League and the response has been so encouraging. The idea is to develop an entire ecosystem of Football. Indian Football is not long away; it’s on the horizon,” Mr. Patel pronounced.
AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das highlighted that AIFF is addressing the “transition phase” to produce better Players.
“The kids who have been identified at the GR level need to be engaged in the YDP and we are working on that,” he said.
Mr. Das also stressed on AIFF’s “zero tolerance policy on corruption related to the Sport.”
“The AIFF has maintained a zero tolerance on corruption. We have conducted Workshops with FIFA and even have an Integrity Officer on board. Maintaining integrity is not just about fighting match fixing. It percolates down to all the Administrators who run the State FA, Clubs and the AIFF. In fact, we at AIFF have signed a code of ethics to address the issue,” Mr. Das echoed.
Meanwhile, Mr. Patel also announced the recipients of the eight 2015 AIFF Awards. A detailed report on the Award winners can be found on https://www.the-aiff.com/news-center-details.htm?id=6879.
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