Kolkata: Last Saturday, the AIFF proposed a roadmap for the future of Indian football but the turmoil hasn’t been solved as of now. Speculations during these troubling times suggest that there might be no tournament this season other than the Indian Super League. The way things are progressing, it definitely doesn’t portray a bright future for domestic football in India.
Further, the comments made by AIFF Secretary Kushal Das, would surely create doubts in the minds of Indian football fans about the future of two of India’s biggest clubs- Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
“We are not bothered about East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. Our concern is to think about Indian football. If the two Kolkata clubs decide to skip the tournament, we will think to be the ideal one for the benefit of Indian football, they may do that. That’s not our problem,” said Das in an interaction with Xtratime.in
He also said, “Yes we gave a proposal to the clubs on last Saturday. But I don’t know why the clubs are denying the fact that we told them that we would be consulting with the FSDL. I can remember that the President at least told five times that he would be discussing the matter with the FSDL. I don’t know why they are denying that right now.”
The AIFF Secretary further went on to state that he had talked it out with the Football Sports Development Limited ( FSDL) who further found it to be a problem organising three leagues in one season. He also said that he would discuss this issue with the AFC as well.
“I had a word with the FSDL. They said it will be difficult to run three leagues in a season. I will speak with AFC and lets see what they think about it. They might take this matter to the competition department and then might ask me to go down to their office, ” the AIFF Secretary said.
However, these comments didn’t go down well with the two Kolkata clubs and the IFA.
Annoyed and disgusted with these developments, East Bengal Secretary Shanti Ranjan Dasgupta hit back at the AIFF, labelling the body as a, ‘puppet’ and warned them of severe consequences if Indian football neglects East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in it’s way forward.
Talking to Xtratime.in, Dasgupta said, “The AIFF is a puppet. Mr Kushal Das knows nothing about Indian football and the entire federation is sold out to The IMG-R. It’s not only about us. All the members in the meeting know the truth. The AIFF is destroying Indian football. If they plan to run Indian football without the two historic clubs, they should be prepared for all the unpleasant circumstances from now on.”
Assistant Secretary of Mohun Bagan, Srinjoy Bose too echoed the same thing but he also went on to question the credibility of FSDL, more so because they weren’t even present at the meeting.
“We wanted the minutes of the meeting. FSDL was not there in the meeting. Who are they to discuss about it when the proposal came from the AIFF President? Does that mean that the credibility of the President has now been reduced to FSDL?”,said Bose.
He further added, “The AIFF Secretary is saying that we are not telling the truth. Forget about us, there were the Churchill Brothers representative, the Shillong Lajong representative and The IFA Secretary himself. Do they want to say that the IFA Secretary is a liar?”
The IFA Secretary Utpal Ganguly also said that he would again talk it out with the two clubs and convey the outcome of the discussion to the AIFF. “If the FSDL has more power than the AIFF President, I should better be silent. I will again discuss with the two clubs and send the reply to the Federation,” Ganguly said.