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Praful Patel requests FIFA President Gianni Infantino to not ban India

Published at :May 24, 2022 at 6:08 AM
Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM
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(Courtesy : AIFF Media)

Yash Pratap Singh


The Supreme Court removed Patel as the AIFF chief and appointed a CoA to manage the football body.

Ousted AIFF president Praful Patel has written to FIFA president Gianni Infantino requesting him to not impose a ban on India after the Supreme Court put the country's football body under a Committee of Administrators.

The SC on May 18 appointed a three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA) to manage the affairs of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), ending Patel's reign as the president as well as setting aside the current Executive Committee he headed. It, Patel fears could lead to a FIFA ban, as the apex body does not allow any third-party interference.

In his letter, Patel also a FIFA Council member, urged FIFA to give India time till July-end to hold elections. He also requested FIFA to enter into a dialogue with the CoA to ensure that the timelines laid down by the Supreme Court are strictly followed.

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"I would also like to point out that the Supreme Court has expressed a sense of urgency in resolving all the issues by July 2022. I request the AFC and FIFA to not impose a suspension at this stage, but instead to consider this important aspect of the Supreme Court order and enter into a dialogue with the CoA to receive a commitment that the said timelines laid down by the Supreme Court would be respected and strictly followed without allowing for delays," Patel said in his letter to Infantino.

Here is what else he said in his letter to the FIFA president.

Background

Praful Patel gave the president an overview of what had exactly happened. He started by mentioning that in 2017 the High Court of Delhi disapproved the constitution of the AIFF and set aside the elections. The court also appointed S.Y. Quarishi as the Ombudsman to manage the affairs of the AIFF, amend the Statutes and subsequently hold fresh elections.

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However, the Supreme Court through an interim order dated 10 November 2017, constituted a committee of Administrators for formulating the Statutes of the AIFF in consonance with the National Sports Council (NSC)'s model guidelines, while keeping in view the Statutes of the AFC and FIFA.

He further mentioned that the ombudsman was to complete his exercise in eight weeks and present the new Statutes to the Supreme Court for consideration. But, it’s been more than three years since.

Final order of Supreme Court

Praful Patel further wrote about the Supreme Court’s final order regarding the issue. He stated, “The Supreme Court in its final order on 18 May 2022 has now enlarged the scope of the CoA, expanding it to run the day-to-day affairs of the AIFF. The Supreme Court has ordered the circulation of the draft Statutes to invite comments/ objections to the same by 30 June 2022.

“Thereafter, all inputs are to be tabulated and placed before the Supreme Court by 15 July 2022 Elections can be held only after the Supreme Court's observations and approval of the Statutes/ process are received,” he explained.

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Way Forward

“Noting that the appointment of the CoA by the Supreme Court could be prima facie interpreted by both the AFC and FIFA as a case of undue third-party influence/ judicial interference, I fear that a suspension by the AFC and/or FIFA will automatically prevent India and/or Indian clubs and players from participating in any international competitions and deprive the AIFF from receiving much-needed development funds at a crucial juncture of development of the game in India.” wrote Patel.

He also mentioned that suspension of the AIFF would also jeopardize the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers, which will take place in India from June 8 in Kolkata. Patel also mentioned that there are other competitions India is to host later this year.

“The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is scheduled to be held in three states across India from 11-30 October 2022, the first time a FIFA women's competition will be held in India. It is widely expected to boost the women's game in my country,” he wrote.

The CoA, which is headed by former SC judge AR Dave, will not only manage the daily affairs of the AIFF, but also frame a constitution in line with the National Sports Code and model guidelines.

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