AIFF ban Sports Ministry requests FIFA
Sree Gokulam Kerala FC and ATK Mohun Bagan, two Indian club teams, have requested permission to participate in the competitions as scheduled from FIFA and the AFC, respectively.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Sports Ministry requested FIFA, AFC to let Indian clubs play AFC tournaments
- Gokulam Kerala women’s team reached Uzbekistan to participate in AFC Women’s Championship
- FIFA suspended India for “undue influence from third parties”
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) have been petitioned by the Union Sports Ministry to allow Indian clubs Sree Gokulam Kerala FC and ATK Mohun Bagan to compete as scheduled.
-ADVERTISEMENT-
As the Gokulam Kerala women’s team had already left for Uzbekistan for their second AFC Women’s Club Championship, the FIFA ban on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday caused chaos.
ATK Mohun Bagan is scheduled to participate in the AFC Cup 2022 (Inter-Zone semifinals) on September 7 in Bahrain, while the women’s squad is scheduled to compete against an Iranian team on August 23 and a Bahraini team on August 26 in Qarshi.
Gokulam Kerala was already in Uzbekistan when FIFA declared that the AIFF would be suspended, according to a correspondence the government sent to FIFA and the AFC.
In order to protect the interests of the young players, it has asked FIFA and the AFC to take into account enabling the squad to participate in the AFC Women’s Club Championship (West area).
The ministry claimed to have also “contacted the Indian embassy in Uzbekistan to provide the team every available support. The Gokulam team’s management and the ministry communicate often.”
With the players at his side, Gokulam Kerala women’s team president VC Praveen called the sports ministry after learning of the suspension. The AFC instantly provided the squad an extension of 48 hours in Tashkent after the ministry swiftly brought the issue to their attention.
Due to “undue influence from third parties,” FIFA suspended India on Monday and stated that the U-17 Women’s World Cup “cannot now be hosted in India as planned.”
FIFA has never before in its 85-year existence banned an organization, and it claims that there have been gross violations of the FIFA Statutes.
