New Delhi: Kalyan Chaubey won the elections and was appointed as the new chief of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). He has become the first player in the history of the association to be chosen as the president. He beat his East Bengal teammate and former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia in the elections.
The results of the elections went 33-1 in favour of Kalyan Chaubey as Bhutia did not have many supporters in the 34-member voters’ list made up of state association representatives. Bhutia could not even get his state association representative as proposer or seconder for filing his nomination papers.
Kalyan Chaubey, who is currently a politician in BJP, played as a goalkeeper for Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. He was also in the Indian senior squad, but could not get a chance to play a match. He has represented India in various age-group tournaments. He has received the award for Indian Goalkeeper of the Year twice and was part of the Indian team that won the SAFF Championships. After his career as a player got over, he also became the CEO of Mohun Bagan Academy from 2010 to 2013. In his political career, he lost the last Lok Sabha elections from the Krishnanagar seat in West Bengal.
Karnataka Football Association President N A Haris, who is also a sitting Congress MLA, was appointed as the vice president after winning the elections against Manvendra Singh of Rajasthan Football Association. While Arunachal Pradesh’s Kipa Ajay became the treasurer, all 14 candidates were elected for the executive committee members’ posts unopposed.
