AIFF enters into strategic alliance with Qatar FA

Indian football supremo Kalyan Chaubey recently met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The All India Football Federation is all set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Qatar Football Association, it was decided after a meeting between the top officials of the two football governing bodies on Sunday, September 11, 2022, in Doha, Qatar.

AIFF President Mr. Kalyan Chaubey and Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, on their visit to Doha, met with QFA President Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al-Thani, Senior Board Members and General Secretary Mr. Mansoor Al-Ansari at the QFA office on Sunday, to discuss a strategic alliance for the mutual benefit of football in both India and Qatar.

Mr. Chaubey, after the meeting, stated, “I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to the QFA President for his valuable time to discuss collaboration possibilities between India and Qatar. I am sure this would be beneficial to both countries in the long run."

Both the AIFF President and Secretary General had travelled to Doha earlier this week, and had on Friday, met with FIFA President Mr. Gianni Infantino to discuss the way forward for Indian Football.

A few days back Kalyan Chaubey addressed the media for the first time. The newly elected President spoke on the development of the sport in the country.

Chaubey gave an interesting answer upon being questioned on if AIFF will focus on the improvement of club football or the national side. He explained, “When you think about the club football and national football scene – If you think about a bullock cart, then you know that both the wheels will have to be in motion equally. So for the development of Indian football, both the club football and national football scene have to be like wheels in a rhythm. Only four people here can’t speak about the future of every single association and Indian footballer here.

“How the development plan will be for Andaman or Lakshadweep will be decided by their association. The 35 member associations will have to submit their own development plans, which will be checked by us. The Odisha, Arunachal, and Manipur state associations have called us to speak with them. After the AIFF accepts the development plan, the state associations will speak with their government on how that can be executed,” he added.