The future of the Indian players remains in limbo after the suspension of the Indian Football Federation by FIFA, which deprived the Asian country of organizing the U-17 Women’s World Cup, which was going to mean considerable media exposure for them .
The FIFA Council Bureau suspended the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday “due to improper interference by third parties, which constitutes a serious breach of the FIFA Statutes,” it said in a statement.
As a backdrop, political interference in the functioning of the federation, something against which FIFA is relentless.
This suspension had an immediate and very concrete effect in this Asian country where football is in the shadow of the king sport, cricket: the U-17 Women’s World Cup, which was to be played in India from October 11 to 30, will not have place finally as planned. It was to be the first FIFA-organized tournament to be held in India since 2017.
The sanction also coincides with the start of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) women’s club championship, for which the players of Gokulam Kerala FC, winners of the Indian national championship, had qualified for the first time.
“We have been working very hard these last two months, and all the players were preparing to win the AFC trophy,” Ashalati Devi, captain of the India team and national team, told India News.
“Winning the title is still a dream for us,” explained Devi, who says the team is “shocked by all of this.”
In a statement, the club regretted being prevented from participating “without us being responsible.”
According to player Lavanya Verma, “the main reason for this suspension is the bad governance (of the AIFF), but we are innocent players… and we have to suffer (the situation).”
– Lack of sponsors –
The women’s national team is ranked 58th in the world, a modest ranking but considerably better than its men’s counterpart (104th), and the Gokulam players became the first Indian team to qualify for a competition last year. of the AFC.
National referee Rachana Kamani considers that the suspension decided by FIFA could put the future of this sport in her country at risk, and make it less attractive.
“With this suspension (…) the desire of women to play (soccer) could decrease because they will not see a future in this sport,” he explained to AFP.
The AIFF suffers from governance problems after its former boss Praful Patel stayed in his post beyond his term without calling new elections.
Women’s football in India was already hampered by a lack of resources, and this suspension will add to financial problems, explains Jamshed Chenoy, who manages a team in the city of Ahmedabad.
“The level of support for women’s football as far as sponsors are concerned is going to take a hit,” she told AFP.
