IMPORTANT DECISIONS TAKEN AT AIFF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

The President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Mr. Praful Patel Chaired the Executive Committee Meeting at All India Football Federation Headquarters, Football House in the Capital on May 14, 2014 (Wednesday).

Besides, AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das, Senior Vice-President Mr. Subrata Dutta, Treasurer Mr. Hardev Jadeja, Vice-Presidents Mr. Shrinivas V. Dempo, Mr. K.M.I. Mather, Mr. Subhash Chopra, and all other Members including Ms. Sara Pilot with the exception of Vice-President Mr. Larsing Ming and Mr. Sunil Bharadwaj attended the Meeting.

Mr. Priti Srivastava from AIFF’s Marketing Partners, IMG-Reliance, was also present.

Mr. Patel informed the Committee that he had a Meeting with FIFA President Mr. Joseph S Blatter; FIFA Secretary General Mr. Jerome Valcke and Mr. Thierry Regenass, Director Member Associations and Development Vision, FIFA; at the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich where he discussed to put a bid for India to host the FIFA World Club Cup in 2017 and also in 2018.

“We have to put in a bid to host it for two consecutive editions of the Championship. If we are successful, we would have FIFA Tournaments in India in 2017, 2018 and 2019,” he added. “We will come to know the outcome in December 2014 and if it happens, it will be a big achievement for Indian Football,” he said.

“I also hope the Indian Super League (ISL) scheduled to kick-off in September 2014 will provide the much-needed boost for the game in our Country. I’m confident it will be a positive development for the promotion of Football in India,” he added.

The Committee endorsed Mr. Patel’s suggestion to appoint a Special Committee to advice the Technical structure for the 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup. Mr. Patel suggested that former Indian National Team Captain Bhaichung Bhutia, current Indian National Team Captain Sunil Chhetri and reputed Indian Coach Derrick Pereira form the panel.

Meanwhile, the Coca Cola Cup will form the primary base for talent scouting for the Indian National Team for the 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup. Boys born on or after January 1, 2000 will be eligible for the Championship.

The Championship will be played first on a zonal format and AIFF will conduct a Seminar with the State Associations explaining the philosophy for Scouting for the Championship. The AIFF Technical Staff would be acting as Scouts for the selection of the National Team for the 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup.

An U-15 League including all U-15 Teams from Clubs, various Academies including AIFF Academies was also proposed to identify more talent for 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup.

The Committee also approved a budget of Rs. 3 crore for U-23 Indian National Team’s preparations for the Incheon Asian Games which includes an exposure Tour abroad.

It was decided that the I-League 2014-15 will kick-off in the first week of December 2014 while the Federation Cup is to be held in Jammu and Kashmir in May 2015.

The Committee unanimously made compulsory for all Coaches/Technical Director to have an AFC A-Licence degree. Furthermore, any Coach/Technical Director without a valid AFC A-Licence degree, if appointed by any Club, would not be allowed to sit on the reserve bench and Coach the Team both during the match and even in Practice Sessions. They also won’t be allowed to enter the Dressing Rooms.

Furthermore, the Committee made it mandatory for all I-League Clubs to sign a marquee Player among the foreign recruits. Unless any Club signs a marquee Player, the Club won’t be allowed to field any other foreign recruits in the I-League any more. As advised by the Committee, the definition for the marquee Player will be intimated to the Clubs by I-League Department at the earliest.

“There is a Meeting on Club Licensing on May 21. It’s entirely up to the First Instance Body to decide on which Clubs get the Licence to play the 2014-15 edition of the I-League,” Mr. Patel stated.

The Committee was also informed about the ongoing bidding process to get new Teams in the 2014-15 edition of the I-League.

Meanwhile, the Committee congratulated recipients of the I-League Awards who were voted by all the Captains and the Coaches of all the participating Clubs.

The recipients of the Awards stay as follows:

Best Player of I-League: Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC)

Best Goalkeeper of I-League: Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar SC)

Best Defender of I-League: John Johnson (Bengaluru FC)

Best Midfielder of I-League: Douhou Pierre (Pune FC)

Best Forward of I-League: Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC)

Best Referee of I-League: Pratap Singh (from Uttarakhand)

Best Assistant Referee of I-League: Sapan Kennedy (from Manipur)

Furthermore, the Committee approved the appointment of an Integrity Officer to deal with corruption and match-fixing by June 2104 as stipulated by AFC and FIFA.

An Observer for the Elections of Rajasthan State Football Association which are to slated to be held on May 25, 2014 was also appointed by the Committee.

It was also directed that the Centralised Registration System for Players and inter-State Transfers be implemented by the respective State Associations by July 31, 2014.

The Committee complimented the Technical Department for introducing the Academies Certification which they felt would greatly help for Youth Development.

A special mention of Manipur’s triumph in the Senior Women’s National Championship was also made. The Committee congratulated the success of Manipur Women and appreciated their 17^th triumph in 20 National Championships.