Finally, a forward pass after endless dribbling

Finally it has happened; a step towards changing the way sport is run in this country. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) appears to h...

Finally it has happened; a step towards changing the way sport is run in this country. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) appears to have bitten the bullet as it amended its consitition at a special AGM here today and like its parent body has opted for a professional setup. A couple of honorary appointments remain, but outside of that, practically everyone will now be appointed and paid like in a corporate set-up. The nitty gritty of the changes will be put on paper before the end of the year, when the next AIFF elections take place.

Here’s a look at the statics, the dynamics, and everything in between…

FROM HONORARY ELECTS TO PRO APPOINTMENTS

• Till now, the AIFF executive committee members — including the president, treasurer and general secretary — were honorary elects.

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• Now, only the president and the treasurer will be elected. The general secretary will be an appointed member, paid for his services and responsible for the various departments and committees, and accountable to the AIFF executive.

DECENTRALISATION OF ZONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• The states and union territories were not divided into particular groups, and were directly under the AIFF’s supervision.

	2007 U-17 WC BID

			• India is considering a proposal to bid for the 2007 Under-17 World Cup and a representation has been forwarded to the government in this regard, AIFF president Priyaranjan Das Munshi said here today. “Fifa had asked India to consider a bid for hosting the 2007 under-17 World Cup and we asked the central government to give the necessary clearance for the AIFF to submit its bid,” Das Munshi said here today. Dasmunshi said the last date for submitting the bid was December 31 and was hopeful that the government clearance would come within a week after which the federation would work on the bid proposal.

• The country will now be divided into five zones with each zone having one vice-president and two paid members on the executive committee.

THE CATCHES

• The general secretary will be paid, but will be appointed at the sole descretion of the president.

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• The different executive departments will have no say in policy matters and appointments made by the president. The top guy will continue to have the final say.

COLACOSPEAK

AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco on the changes:
• Our structure will now be the same as that of FIFA or AFC. Except of course that they deal with so many more things. If they have 10 departments, we will have three or four. But the theory behind the structure will be the same.

• We were asked by FIFA and AFC to make this change. They told us that if we want to grow, we have to become more professional and make these changes. We needed a professional constitution and a lot of other things.

• Along with building the AIFF headquarters (FIFA House) in New Delhi, this is the second big step towards making things more organised. We couldn’t go on shifting headquarters and messing up.