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Constitution’s no to two posts could trigger AIFF crisis
Kolkata: AIFF faces a crisis as top officials may resign if new constitution is approved, requiring them to vacate state positions to stay in national roles.
Kolkata: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) could have a crisis if the constitution is approved as it is at the special general body meeting in New Delhi on October 12. Faced with the situation where they will have to give up their positions in the state units, a number of top officials could quit their posts in the national body.
Including the president, vice-president, treasurer and eminent players, the AIFF executive committee has 16 members and six eminent footballers. Barring one, all members hold at least one post in a member association. As defined by the new constitution approved by the Supreme Court, a member unit of the AIFF “shall mean an association which is either a Full Member or Provisional Member of the AIFF.”
AIFF has 34 full members with Railways Sports Control Board and Services Sports Control Board as associate members.
President Kalyan Chaubey is in the executive committee of the Gujarat State Football Association, vice-president NA Haris heads Karnataka State Football Association and treasurer Kipa Ajay is the secretary-general of the Arunachal Pradesh Football Association. In the AIFF executive committee, there are three more state unit presidents, three state association secretaries and at least two who are joint-secretaries in their states.
If they are to continue in AIFF, they will have to leave their posts in the state. In the constitution sent to AIFF members, of which HT has a copy, Article 25.3c states that an AIFF executive committee office-bearer “shall automatically deemed to have vacated his/her position in the Member Association.”
Article 2S.3d states: “Similarly, in the event that a person is elected as an Office-Bearer in a Member Association and holds a position of an Office-Bearer in the Executive Committee of the AIFF, he/she shall automatically be deemed to have vacated his/her position in the Member Association.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, three AIFF executive committee members told HT that they would resign from the national body. A former sports administrator HT spoke to said this was like asking members of parliament to stop representing their constituency on being made a minister.” Once you give up your position in the state, what do you go back to once your term in AIFF ends, the former sports administrator said. The administrator did not want to be named given the sensitive nature of the issue.
FIFA does not have this. Six of its eight vice-presidents serving in the FIFA Council, the main decision-making body when the FIFA Congress is not in session, head continental bodies. Among the council’s remaining 28 members are presidents of seven national football federations, including Germany, Saudi Arabia and Colombia.
In its judgement on September 19, the Supreme Court had noted that the clause of an AIFF official having to leave his or her position in the state had been deleted by former judge LN Rao who was given the task of framing the draft constitution by the apex court. Justice Rao, the judgement said, had termed it an unjust disqualification. It was reinstated because “some stakeholders” were “against holding two offices at the same time” and to ensure that the AIFF official is not “overworked with responsibilities at a member association,” the judgement said.
