Mokokchung, September 1 (MTNews): K Neibou Sekhose, the president of the Nagaland Football Association, was formally elected as an executive member of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday. He was elected among the 13 state football associations to lead the football body in the election for the new AIFF executives, which was held today in Delhi.
The All India Football Federation, a department of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, is the governing body of football in India.
Sekhose will now participate in decision-making for the Indian football community and attend all AIFF meetings.
Kalyan Chaubey beats Bhaichung Bhutia to become president
Former goalkeeper of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, Kalyan Chaubey has become the first footballer to serve as the president of AIFF in its 85 years of existence.
He defeated former teammate Bhaichung Bhutia in the two-horse race in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) presidential election by a landslide victory of 33-1 votes.
In today’s election, out of the 36 state associations in India, barring Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir, 34 were allowed to vote. And despite having eight northeastern states, sources confirmed that none of the states favored the Bhaichung Bhutia presidency.
After the result was announced, Bhutia stated that he will continue to work for Indian football. Following the announcement of the result, the 45-year-old said, “First of all, I want to say congratulations to Kalyan. I hope under him, we will be able to take Indian football forward. Thanks to all the football fans in India for showing so much support over the last couple of days. I have been working for football before the elections, and will continue working after the elections also.”
Meanwhile, for the vice-president post, Nalapad Ahmed Haris, president of Karnataka State Football Association won against Rajasthan Football Association president Manvendra Singh.
The politics that work in favor of Chaubey
In addition to the foundation Chaubey established for the polls in the previous 10 days, Chaubey has also benefited from his reputation as a crucial BJP leader in West Bengal. Even though he lost to the late Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sadhan Pande in the West Bengal elections last year and conceded defeat to the TMC’s Mohua Moitra in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Chaubey was still well-liked by the party’s top brass due to the tough fight he put up against the TMC leaders.
This is also likely the reason why the Gujarat Football Association and the Arunachal Pradesh Football Association, two states that are not often thought of as football powerhouses in the nation but do hold political leaders significant in national affairs, both supported his nomination.
‘Politics won again’: Netizens react to Bhutia’s defeat
Netizens were left fuming after legendary Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia lost comprehensively to Kalyan Chaubey in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) elections on Friday.
“No wonder FIFA kicked India out when openly politically smeared people are picked over talent and achievements,” one user tweeted.
“So BJP will control AIFF also from today” another tweeted.
“As expected, the northeast will never have chance” tweeted one more.
Meanwhile, Bhutia in his first reaction said, “I will keep working for the betterment of Indian football in future. Congratulations to Kalyan, I hope he will take Indian football forward.”
“Thanks to all football fans across India for showing suppor to me so much. I’ve been working for football before the elections, and will continue to do the same. I’m there in executive committee.”