Crocodile Tears

The previous post was flooded with lot of queries and reactions from the football fraternity. But few understood the message. Some thought I was criticising the AIFF. Well, it was definitely not a tirade against AIFF deal or a corporate tie-up. I only highlighted the corruption inside Football House. It wasn't any figment of an imagination. So those who still couldn't read the actual message, I request them to browse through it once again.

Shouldn't we have some clarity on Indian football officials? There are plenty of unanswered questions which needs to be answered. We need to know who are the 'brains' behind Indian football's development? Why the 'outgoing' secretary Alberto Colaco is still around despite resigning last June? Some say it is his 'crocodile tears' which has helped him win those AIFF members who wanted his removal after former president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi went into coma.

Ahhh. Crocodile Tears! In Hindi, we say magarmach ke aansoo. When I grew up , my mom had nicely explained me the right usage of the phrase. So here we are in the dubious world of Indian football federation where the dribble for power overtakes Indian football's development plans.

The Goan, who was hated by couple of vice-presidents and members till a year back, now successfully has wooed them. Sending 'rebel members' with the Indian teams as managers on outstation tours is seen as a perfect move to keep them quiet. You oblige them and then staple their mouth. So it was nothing surprising to see him continue as secretary without any protests. I was told by one state asssociation secretary that he always wanted to tour with the Indian team to a foreign country. Poor guy, he was never in the good books of the AIFF secretary because he isn't that 'influential' unlike others.

So Mr Colaco, we haven't heard of the appointment of your new successor. What happened to the interviews which were supposed to take place last September? The entire football fraternity want an answer. If it is a democratic process, let not the candidates sulk and deny them a chance to appear for the interview which was advertised by your office in July last year. I was told that the earlier process has been scrapped and the burly Goan had been asked to 'train' a youngster for the coveted post. Interesting, isn't it?

Last month, his Goan pal Joaquim Alemao was promoted as vice-president after spending a year as an ordinary executive committee member in AIFF. Wait. He uncorked one more surprise. The 'outgoing' secretary allegedly 'planted' Daman & Diu secretary Franco Miranda to the executive committee. For your information, Daman & Diu doesn't participate in AIFF tournaments and they were sanctioned for not following the AIFF norms. So why did Mr Colaco gave him an entry? Simple. Some say he purposely did it because he wanted to stop his Goan rival Savio Messias from becoming an AIFF member.

While some officials have turned out shadow 'agents', here the secretary himself has been using his office to snub his rivals. We have a request, please don't tarnish football and AIFF with your dirty politics. You guys can settle your old score outside the Football House, probably, over a mug of beer on Goa's golden beaches.