Football federation polls: Bhutia appeals Northeast to vote for him
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New Delhi: Former Indian Footballer Bhaichung Bhutia appealed to the football associations of Northeast India to vote for him in the upcoming Presidential election of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) scheduled on September 2, IANS reported.
The former ace footballer wrote a letter saying, "I have been a proud son of Northeast India and represented the region to the best of my ability in the 20-odd years of my career. Today, I represent the Northeast again to contest the post of President of the AIFF. Our region is the hub of Indian football, and we have become a factory for producing footballers for the country. It is therefore high time for a Northeastern person to lead the Federation."
He advised football federations in the northeast region not to get pressurised by political influence, but the game itself must remain the lone criteria.
He said, "Indian football has suffered a lot over the decades because of political interference, and this is a great opportunity for us to course correct, revive football in our country and bring it up to international standards."
He also assured that if he gets elected as AIFF President, his immediate commitment to the states will be as follows:
He promised that if he were elected as AIFF President, he would provide annual financial support (Rs 30 to 50 lakh) to every state for the purpose of conducting grassroots leagues and state leagues.
His poll promises continue that AIFF will support state-level players in coaches' training programmes and produce many more qualified local coaches. AIFF will conduct a separate state-level Northeast league. Finally, AIFF, under his leadership, will add many more deserving members of the state football associations to the AIFF committee and help state associations technically on all football-related matters.
Bhutia concluded, "These are all achievable, and I sincerely appeal to all Northeast football associations not to get pressurised by outside factors. We need to ensure this for the greater good of football in the Northeast and for Indian football at large."