Kalyan Chaubey Press Conference: Bhaichung Bhutia slammed, OCI issue discussed but Indian football's main problems ignored

Indian football fans might struggle to recall a time when their senior national teams, men or women, looked more soulless on the field than they do now. The women’s team currently finds itself ranked 70th – their lowest ever – while the men’s team currently is ranked 127th.

There was a time – and this was just seven years ago – when Uzbekistan and India were neighbours on FIFA rankings, ranked 96th and 97th respectively. However, while one nation has fulfilled its dream of playing in the World Cup, the other is struggling to qualify for a continental event.

The scrutiny of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), and particularly president Kalyan Chaubey, has only intensified after the Blue Tigers suffered a 0-1 defeat against Hong Kong , a team ranked 26 places below it on the FIFA rankings.

Chaubey hits back at Bhutia, targets his academies

And legendary striker Bhaichung Bhutia wasn’t one to mince words when criticising the Chaubey-led administration , accusing them of “destroying Indian football”, and calling for the former India goalkeeper to resign from his post.

Chaubey did not hold back either. In a press conference in New Delhi on Friday where he was supposed to discuss concrete solutions to the problems that currently plague Indian football as well as coach Manolo Marquez’ future with the Blue Tigers, the former Mohun Bagan and East Bengal keeper targeted the legendary striker for his inability to produce any notable results through his football academies.

“In the past 13 months, we have had 11 EC meetings. He (Bhutia) has been present at all of them. If there was corruption, he had ample opportunity to challenge them in the meetings, all of which are recorded and accessible to the masses,” Chaubey told reporters when quizzed on former teammate Bhutia’s comments.

Chaubey went on to target Bhutia’s football schools, which are located across the country and has been losing by margins of up to 31-0 against academy recruits of other clubs. The AIFF president accused Bhutia of playing with the “the emotions of players and families” by charging hefty fees at his academies without producing any tangible results.

“He has commercial schools where the fees are from 1000s to 2 lakhs… He has a completely vested and commercial interest. They are taking undue advantage while playing with the emotions of players and people who believe that he has achieved the peak of Indian football.

“I’ve had enough over the past one and a half years. And I am here to tell that if he still wishes to swim against the tide, he will face obstacles.

“Being a respected figure comes with a lot of responsibility. It isn’t merely about personalities, but it’s about progress,” Chaubey added.

It’s worth noting that Bhutia and Chaubey, who had shared the East Bengal dressing room from 1997 to 1999 besides representing the country together, were rivals during the 2022 AIFF presidential election – in which Chaubey trounced Bhutia by 33 votes to one.

AIFF chief comments on Marquez’ future, OCI question

Chaubey’s press conference three days after India’s away defeat at the hands of Hong Kong was widely expected to be one where he would make a concrete announcement on Marquez, who was entrusted with coaching the Indian team in addition to FC Goa in the Indian Super League after the board sacked Igor Stimac last year.

Instead, it was his comments on Bhutia in response to a question from one reporter than ended up making headlines, and is sure to elicit a response from the ‘Sikkimese Sniper’.

Chaubey, however, did make mention of Marquez’s future with the Indian team – that a final decision on the matter would be made on 29 June in an Executive Committee meeting.

Another popular talking point, especially on social media, has been that of allowing Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) or Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) to represent India in football, especially due to the lack of quality talent among the younger crop of players that forced iconic forward Sunil Chhetri to come out of retirement recently.

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Midfielder Hamza Choudhury, who currently plays for Championship club Sheffield United and had previously represented Leicester City, had made headlines for representing Bangladesh against India in an Asian Cup qualifying game in Shillong, where the ‘Bengal Tigers’ held the hosts to a goalless draw but were ultimately the better team on the field.

Neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan too have allowed overseas players to represent them in football. However, the fact that all three nations are a long way off from India when it comes to their position on the FIFA ladder suggests it hardly is a solution to AIFF’s problems.

Chaubey, however, might be seeing the OCI move as something of a quick fix to the mounting problems that has put his ability as an administrator under the spotlight. After all, he claimed he was in touch with up to 33 such players from around the world, indicating that the idea was being pursued by the federation with full seriousness.

“The AIFF is in communication with 33 players who fall into the category of OCI. Some of them have received their OCI cards, and others are in the process of attaining the same, with the assistance of the AIFF,” he said.

“We are committed to aligning with the laws of the land and the framework of the FIFA statutes for the inclusion of OCI players in India,” Chaubey added in the presser.

All eyes will be on Chaubey and the AIFF when they face the press a little over two weeks from now to take a call on Marquez’s future. Whatever decision they make, one can only hope it’s the first step towards fixing the mess that Indian football finds itself in.