March 6 – All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey has denied allegations of corruption in a letter to members ahead of the organisation’s annual general meeting.
Chaubey claims the allegations of corruption against him were a “concerted and systematic effort” to derail him.
He wrote that “we can all see these allegations have been politicised and widely spread with a clear and malicious intent not only to damage my reputation but also to destabilise the AIFF…”
The AIFF’s former legal head of the federation Nilanjan Bhattacharjee made the corruption allegations and reported them to the Indian authorities, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He outlined Chaubey’s purported involvement in corrupt practices, citing instances such as the manipulation of tender processes and the lack of transparency in the preferential allocation of contracts.
He wrote “…through coercion and at his own subservient interest, allotted numerous tenders such as broadcasting of I-League, IWL, Santosh Trophy in favour of one company which happens to be close to the incumbent president.”
“Crores of money have been spent by the current president for president for his personal trips, hotel stays.”
Chaubey has said he will take legal action against Bhattacharjee, having sent him a defamation notice.
“It is also my duty to protect the reputation of the AIFF in the face of these attempts to weaken the institution through allegations made against me,” said Chaubey.
In 2022, Chaubey succeeded Praful Patel as president of India’s governing body. His election came on the back of India’s temporary ban from world football over third-party interference after the country’s Supreme Court had appointed a committee of administrators to run daily operations at the AIFF.
Chaubey, however, is a politician and a member of India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Under Chaubey, India had disastrous campaigns at both the U-17 Women’s World Cup and the recent Asian Cup. General secretary Shaji Prabhakaran also exited the AIFF following a dispute with Chaubey.
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