Patel finally runs out of luck, tenure beyond permissible limit ends

This has forced SC to appoint a 3-member Committee of Administrators (COA) headed by former top court judge AR Dave to manage the affairs of the AIFF

NEW DELHI: A stop-gap arrangement before becoming a full-fledged head of All India Football Federation in 2009, Praful Patel ruled the national sports body with an iron hand, often muzzling dissent, and beyond permissible tenure before he was ultimately forced out of office by the Supreme Court.

Patel's third term in office was to end in December 2020 but he clung to a SC case, which remained pending since 2017, to extend his executive committee's term while refusing to hold elections till the issue of a new constitution was settled by the top court.

This has forced the SC to appoint a three-member Committee of Administrators (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.

The COA will also comprise two earlier members -- Dr SY Qureshi, former Chief Election Commissioner and Bhaskar Ganguly, former captain of the Indian football team besides Justice (retd) Dave.

This is the first time a COA will take charge of the AIFF, unprecedented in its 85-yearold history during which time it has never failed to hold its elections until the Patel-led dispensation bucked the trend.

There was an element of luck in his rise as he got the top job after then AIFF chief Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi suffered a cardiac arrest in 2008 (as Patel was the senior vice president then).

"The earlier executive committee of AIFF (headed by Patel) is no longer there after today's SC order, it is gone. The SC asked us to take charge immediately, so as soon as we get the court order we will assume charge, speak to each other and chalk out our course of action," Quraishi said.