BHUTIA’S PITCH TO BE PRESIDENT
Ace former captain strikes conciliatory note in bid for Indian football’s top job
FORMER national team captain Bhaichung Bhutia last Friday (26) cited his “credibility and experience” and his equivalent in cricket, Sourav Ganguly, to hammer home the point that he is “definitely the right man” to lead the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Both Bhutia and Ganguly are iconic former captains of their respective sports. While the cricketer was born and brought up in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, the ace footballer shares a deep bond with West Bengal’s capital, having spent time there while playing for Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in his heyday.
Bhutia, 45, threw his hat into the AIFF election ring once again, even as former goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey, seen as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, has emerged as the front runner for the top job. Both former players filed their nominations last Thursday (25).
“Today what I’ve become is only because of football. I’m a Padma Shri [Indian civilian award] because of it. I played for India for 16 years – this is my moment to give back to my sport. It needs reforms with the ban happening,” Bhutia said.
“I’m not new to the AIFF. I’m working with the government and the sports ministry. The government is supporting all sportspersons. Our prime minister is helping sports grow in India.
“I have the experience, the knowledge, and plans for Indian football. I can do it. With so much negativity around, we need reforms. Sportspersons are now motivated to enter administration.”
A decorated player with more than 100 international appearances, Bhutia added, “Look at Sourav Ganguly, he is an iconic cricketer and doing so well in cricket administration.”
Bhutia praised Chaubey’s keenness to help the sport navigate its way through one of its toughest phases as an administrator, but reiterated that he could do a “much better job”.
Given a chance to run the AIFF, he said he would do his best to arrange substantial funding for all state associations in order to organise regular tournaments in all age groups; set up football centre of excellences across the country; and also use training facilities to develop coaches and conduct advanced courses for referees.
He added that regional languages must be introduced in coaching programmes so people aspiring to become coaches were not made to do it in English as they might not be fluent in the language.
Though he had contested legislative elections and also floated a political party in his native state of Sikkim, Bhutia said he did not belong to any big national party, and that would help him in managing football administration better.
“Whenever there were big politicians at the helm, you would hear one state saying ‘he belongs to my party, he belongs to another.’ But with me, I can go to any state without any issues, because I am not affiliated to a big national political party,” Bhutia explained.
“Our priority should be to produce players. We need to play the World Cup on merit and not just as hosts. We have to make sure that football is the winner.
“Let me and Kalyan have a discussion – the media can also be part of it – and then decide who is the better man to lead Indian football. Let’s not make this election political,” he said. “Let’s not get politics involved and destroy this beautiful sport.”
He also cited his experience as an adviser at the Sikkim Football Association, besides running the United Sikkim club for nearly two decades.
One of the country’s greatest players, Bhutia added, “I can change Indian football for good. I have the credibility, I am competent. It’s definitely a challenge, but not impossible.”
He has been involved in multiple roles in football administration post-retirement – from owning a club to becoming president of the players’ association and even serving the AIFF’s technical committee as its chairman.
The Rajasthan Football Association president, Manvendra Singh, a Congress politician and a former Lok Sabha MP, is backing Bhutia’s candidature, as is Andhra Pradesh FA president Gopalkrishna Kosaraju, who last Friday withdrew his nomination for the treasurer’s post in the AIFF elections slated for Friday (2).
The election process is underway even as the AIFF waits for the world governing body FIFA to lift the suspension imposed on India for violating its rules.
FIFA suspended the AIFF after alleging ‘undue influence’ from third parties referring to the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) in the functioning of the federation.
The court has since ordered the dissolution of the CoA.