It had been coming. The warning signs were there for everyone to see. Naysayers predicted that this would be the exact scenario in the near future, yet everyone turned a blind eye to it. And finally it is here. The darkest day in the history of Indian football. In a verdict that has shaken the very foundations of the Indian football fraternity, FIFA has suspended the All India Football Federation with immediate effect.
The reason cited is third party interference in its administration. This is a rather serious offence in the eyes of FIFA. The suspension will only be lifted if the Committee of Administrators (CoA) is dissolved. Post that the AIFF resumes full control of its daily administration matters.
AIFF Suspended; What Next?
The ruling will have serious repercussions in the way Indian football proceeds from here. The suspension means that FIFA does not acknowledge the existence of any national teams. Nor any leagues that will be played in India.
It also means that the hosting rights of the U17 women’s FIFA World Cup, which was supposed to be held in India has also been stripped, and the participation of the Men’s football team in the upcoming Asia Cup has been thrown into doubt.
This is a sorry state of the country. A nation that routed to be the sleeping giant of World football. And just when it seemed that the fortunes of the Country had taken an upward curve with back-to-back Asia Cup participations, a first appearance by an Indian club in the AFC champions league, and the first appearance of a women’s team in the AFC champions league, the announcement has come in as a death knell for all the football lovers of the country.
The entire football landscape of the country is in ruins by the sheer greed for power. That, along with the insistence to stay in power for even longer without giving a consideration to the greater good. The amount of greed that is running through the powers that have been running Indian football. This has led the beautiful game in the country to go down in the doldrums.
And unless something prophetic or miraculous happens from here, it will be a herculean effort for the AIFF to be reinstated. For now, all we can do is look at the situation as a fresh start, rather than a bitter ending, and approach it with a clean slate.
Here is a Twitter thread that may add more clarity to the whole situation as well-
Well, things are not looking good for football in this country. After so much effort to promote it and help the domestic leagues grow, this is really bad. That too on such an amazing day for things to fall apart. Things will get worse if the matter is not taken seriously.
The guilty deserve punishment. Let’s hope the people working on this matter resolve it and fast. The future of the game rests now on certain individuals who love the sport!!
