Managing Indian football is very complex: Ex-AIFF Gen Secy

Kushal Das, the former General Secretary of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), who oversaw the activities of Indian football for over a decade, has opened up on the functioning of the newly-elected Executive Committee of the federation.

Speaking to IANS, Das, who resigned from his post on "health grounds" in June 2022 after a 12-year tenure, said that six months is a very short time to judge any new committee.

Everybody needs time to settle down and perform, he feels.

"Six months are too short a time to judge a new committee. But I think they have the right intent. Managing Indian football is very complex and arduous, considering the lack of football culture in the country, except in certain pockets.

"The vastness and diversity of the country, along with limited resources and big expectations from the fans and the stakeholders, add to a lot of pressure.

"However, one thing which is of concern is the high attrition rate seen in the past six months. A lot of senior and mid-level management personnel have left, and considering the limited talent pool in football administration, in fact in all sports, the new management must introspect as this will badly hamper its development plans," Das told IANS.

Though Das said that he has not yet gone through the 'Vision 2047', the strategic roadmap of Indian football (2023-2047) unveiled by the AIFF earlier this year, he feels that the vision, mission, and value aspects can be dealt in a long-term basis after planning the operative part according to the terms of an elected committee.

"I have not read the Vision 2047 yet, but there are two aspects of a strategic plan. The vision, mission, and value aspects, which are long-term and constant except for minor tweaks, and the operative plan to achieve the same.

"The operative plan really should not exceed the term of the elected committee (four years), since after every four years, a new panel may come in and have different ideas of achieving the vision and the mission.

"For example, a particular committee may focus on developing leagues and a bigger club culture across the country with a state development plan, while another committee might focus on the national team rankings and performance with bigger international exposure.

"One must remember that the resources are really limited and the operative plan must be pragmatic, considering the available resources. It cannot be a wish list. In 2015, the AIFF with active participation from FIFA and after consultation with all the stakeholders had created a strategic plan with clear vision and mission statements and that should be the basis going forward.

The four-year operative plan to achieve this may be tweaked based on the management perspective and the available resources," Das said.

He is also not in favour of moving the Santosh Trophy out of the country. Instead, he feels that the states participating in the competition should have a two-three months' league and the best players can be selected for the national team or may be groomed as future prospects.

"Moving the Santosh Trophy out of India did not make any sense. While I understand the thinking of the management was to improve the perception of the tournament, however, it was not good to see 50-odd people in a 50,000-capacity stadium. The previous edition of the Santosh Trophy with big support from the government was very successful. I think the most important thing is to ensure that states which participate in the event have at least a two-three months' league and the best players are selected.

"In my view, it must be held in India, especially in places like Kerala, West Bengal, Goa, and Northeast, with good support from the government with regard to infrastructure.

"But the one great thing about this edition of Santosh Trophy was Karnataka winning after 54 years. With Bengaluru FC and other emerging clubs, I think Karnataka is in a good position to become an important footballing state once again," Das said.