| SPORTS:
FOOTBALL
Called For A Foul
Indian football promises much on the field but its
ruling
body cannot shake off allegations of financial irregularities
By Labonita Ghosh
There's a new spring
in the step of Indian football, brought about by the national squad's
gutsy performances in their first two
World Cup qualifying matches. Captain Baichung Bhutia regularly finds
himself in the spotlight and crowds have packed Kanteerva Stadium in Bangalore
to cheer on the home team. As the team prepares to head overseas to play
three back-to-back away games in the zonal qualifiers-and possibly move
up the torturous World Cup qualifying ladder for the first time-it may
seem like the master plan for the improvement of Indian football has begun
to take effect.
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FULL STRETCH: The team led by Bhutia (right) has put soccer's woes
in the shade
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Far from it. The All India Football Federation
(AIFF) is caught in a messy legal battle over alleged misappropriation
of funds. World soccer's ruling body FIFA is now looking askance at this
troublesome Asian member. During a recent visit to FIFA's offices at the
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Kuala Lumpur, AIFF Secretary Alberto
Colaco discovered that India is excluded from the group of 26 nations
selected by the AFC for financial assistance. The AIFF's poor administrative
record in recent years would not have helped its case.
Indian football remains out in the cold despite
buoyant assurances from Congress MP and AIFF President Priyaranjan Das
Munshi to AFC Secretary Peter Velappan late last year, informing him that
all was well with the Indian body. Das Munshi wrote to Velappan in December
saying, "I am delighted to inform you that all the AIFF's problems
have been resolved through its democratic election." At the time,
Das Munshi had reason to be optimistic: he had just clinched the election
for AIFF president yet again, and the Sahara Millennium Cup (a 15-day
football carnival intended to rake in the money and propel India into
the league of mega-event organisers) was intended to be the crowning glory
of his fourth term as AIFF chief.
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There is no financial irregularity and
the matter will be proved in court.
Priyaranjan Das Munshi, President,
All India Football Federation
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Not surprisingly, given the AIFF's previous record,
the $150,000-prize money Sahara Cup was an unequivocal flop as no big
names showed up and international teams sent second strings and university
squads. The promoters of the event took the monetary hit themselves (their
agreement with the AIFF stated that the football body would be guaranteed
30 per cent of the income but absorb no part of any losses). But other
clouds of financial controversy have continued to hover over the AIFF.
A lawsuit alleging financial "irregularities" in the AIFF of
close to Rs 3 crore is still in the Calcutta High Court. The AIFF's funds
are now under the scrutiny of a special officer appointed by the court.
The court has also appointed its own auditor to look into the AIFF's accounts
and he will present his findings by May-end. The AIFF's can of worms may
still be prised open.
The wrangling over money has reached such alarming
proportions that FIFA might still call for a probe into the AIFF's dealings.
Velappan told India Today that "the AFC has received numerous complaints
against the AIFF on the mismanagement of football in India. The complaints
have also focused on the abuse of funds provided by FIFA. The AFC is concerned,
and FIFA is entitled to send a team to audit the manner in which funds
have been disbursed."
In 1999, FIFA gave a grant of $250,000 (Rs 1.15
crore) to the AIFF for the Youth Development Fund. This was to be an annual
dole, but after its first grant, FIFA started receiving complaints about
funds being siphoned off by top AIFF office bearers for purposes other
than football. FIFA immediately terminated the grant. Das Munshi says
he used the money to hold junior camps. "A large amount has been
spent on camps for the under-16 and under-19 national teams, as well as
on sending them abroad," he says. "Where do you think we got
the money for all that? At the end of the season, we are left with virtually
nothing."
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