 "Bhaichung Bhutia has slammed AIFF and its president Kalyan Chaubey. Image: AFP")
Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has come down hard on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its President Kalyan Chaubey, blaming them for the poor state of Indian football. The criticism came a day after India lost 1-0 to Hong Kong in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
Kalyan Chaubey has destroyed Indian football: Bhutia
Bhutia said it was very painful to see where Indian football is right now . Bhutia directly blamed AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey for the mess. He also pointed out how the constant change in leadership was hurting the system. Bhutia raised questions about the ongoing I-League championship issue between Inter Kashi and Churchill Brothers.
“It’s very painful to see… we are definitely struggling now to even qualify for the Asia Cup, which we’ve been qualifying for regularly. Countries like Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Jordan have qualified for the World Cup, and we are still struggling for the Asia Cup. Very unfortunate,” Bhutia told PTI.
“Kalyan Chaubey has destroyed Indian football. Chaubey has to resign and leave. He has completely destroyed it. Three General Secretaries in two-and-a-half years — the entire structure, the system will have to be changed. Controversy after controversy, corruption charge… even after months now we don’t know who the I-League winner is,” he said.
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The former striker also criticised the AIFF for letting Manolo Marquez coach both FC Goa and the Indian national team at the same time. He claimed that Marquez was appointed without the approval of the Technical Committee. Bhutia was also not happy about the decision to bring Sunil Chhetri out of international retirement.
“It was nice of him to come out of retirement, but it was a completely bad decision. Manolo should not have requested, and now we hear the Federation pushed for it. But what’s changed? There is nothing happening at the grassroots. It’s all negative news off the field, and that reflects on the national team’s performance,” he added.
India are still alive in the competition but have a very slim chance of making it to the next round. India will need to win their remaining matches and hope other results go their way so they can finish at the top and make the final round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.