SC intervention was necessary: State units tell visiting team

NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) member units on Wednesday met the visiting FIFA-AFC team and informed it that the Supreme Court intervention in the national sports body was “out of necessity”.

Last month, the SC ousted the Praful Patel-led dispensation in the AIFF and appointed a three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA) to frame a new constitution and hold elections for a new set of office bearers, besides running the day-to-day affairs of the national federation.

Since then, there have been speculations about a possible FIFA ban on India for third party intervention in the affairs of the AIFF. However, the apprehensions, to a large extent, were cleared with the visit of the FIFA-AFC delegation. On the second day of its visit, the team held discussions with a seven-member committee of the state associations.

“It was a very positive and constructive meeting. We explained the visiting team about how the Supreme Court came to the scene after the old dispensation (under Patel) did not hold elections even though its term was over,” a top source who attended the meeting said.

The FIFA-AFC team had a first round of talks with the CoA members on Tuesday, which sources said had gone well and added the world body is unlikely to impose a ban on the country.