Who is AIFF Presidential candidate Kalyan Chaubey?

The former India goalkeeper represented the national team across all age groups.

After FIFA dealt a hammer blow to Indian football in the form of a ban, all eyes are on the upcoming All India Football Federation (AIFF) elections. The elections will take place before September 15 as the officials scurry to reverse FIFA’s massive decision.

It will be a vote-based election and the new criteria mean a lot of ex-players can apply for the presidential race. Among the ones to have already put in their name is former India goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey. An East Bengal legend, the former goalkeeper has thrown his hat into the ring hoping for success. Let’s look at exactly what the 45-year-old brings to the fray.

FACT SHEET

Early Life

Chaubey took up football as his profession at a very young age. He was part of the second batch of the Tata Football Academy (TFA) trainee group from 1989-1995. Chaubey went through an extensive grassroots program in India, getting quality facilities thanks to the TFA.

After a promising youth career, he joined Mohun Bagan in 1996. After one season with them, Chaubey switched to their arch-rivals East Bengal a year later. It was with the Red & Gold Brigaders that Chaubey enjoyed his best football. The goalkeeper spent two seasons with East Bengal before joining Bengal Mumbai FC.

He also spent a short period with Salgaocar. In 2002, he had trials with Germany's second division side Karlsruher SC and German amateur club VfR Heilbronn. Chaubey was an India international for many years, winning the 1999 and 2005 SAFF Championship titles.

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Post Retirement

After retiring from football, Kalyan Chaubey has been actively involved in administration roles for many years. He worked with Mohun Bagan’s academy from 2011 to 2013 as well as with some youth development programs. In 2012, he became a coordinator for the GOALZ project in Kolkata.

That project helped underprivileged children and introduced them to football. In 2015, Chaubey joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and he then contested elections from Manicktala, Kolkata.

He currently works as the North Kolkata district BJP President. However, the ex-India goalkeeper doesn’t have any direct ties with the IFA (Indian Football Association) – the state's football governing body.

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Connections to Indian Football

Chaubey’s connection to football in India started way back when he climbed the ranks as a youth player. He went on to have a pretty good career, playing for both Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The goalkeeper would also feature heavily for India, gaining invaluable experience with that.

Chaubey is currently helping the youth football development scene in West Bengal. He often helps organize local-level tournaments or trials, as well as improve the grassroots activities in the state. He is also a part of the Eklavya Sports and Skill Development foundation, formed by the TFA batch of 1987-1990. Through this, he aims to help emerging young players, giving technical expertise as well as advice.

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Key Achievements

As a player, Chaubey won a number of domestic trophies during his period with the Kolkata sides. He also won the SAFF Championship twice with India as well as winning the South Asian Games bronze medal in 1999.

After retiring, the ex-goalkeeper has been actively involved in helping youth development across the country. He was the Technical Director of the Bajaj Allianz Youth Talent hunt from 2011 to 2013. In this project, he was involved in the selection and training of over 70,000 kids in the U-15 category across 37 Indian cities.

The selected kids were allowed to have a trial period at the Bayern Munich academy in Germany. As part of the Eklavya Sports & Development Foundation, he has been working to give training and expert guidance to thousands of children since 2015.

Controversies

Kalyan Chaubey has maintained a pretty clean slate when it comes to his contribution to football development in India. There haven’t been complaints about his work or how he’s helped the football grassroots system over the years.

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