Praful Patel requests FIFA chief Infantino to not ban India

Removed as the president of All India Football Federation by the Supreme Court Praful Patel on Monday requested FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to not impose a ban on the country after the sports body was placed under a Committee of AdministratorsLast week the SC appointed a threemember Committee of Administrators CoA to run the AIFF virtually revoking the powers of its governing body headed by Patel while opening up the possibility of a FIFA ban for external interferenceThe threemember panel has been mandated to oversee the daytoday affairs of the AIFF until elections are held under a new constitutionI would also like to point out that the Supreme Court has expressed a sense of urgency in resolving all the issues by July 2022I request the AFC Asian Football Confederation and FIFA to not impose a suspension at this stage but instead to consider this important aspect of the Supreme Court order and enter into a dialogue with the CoA to receive a commitment that the said timelines laid down by the Supreme Court would be respected and strictly followed without allowing for delays on any account Patel said in his letter to InfantinoA FIFA ban at this stage would mean the under17 womens World Cup scheduled from October 1130 will be taken away from IndiaIndias 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers scheduled in Kolkata next month could also be hitNoting that the appointment of the CoA by the Supreme Court could be prima facie interpreted by both the AFC and FIFA as a case of undue thirdparty influencejudicial interference I fear that a suspension by the AFC andor FIFA will automatically prevent India andor Indian clubs and players from participating in any international competitions and deprive the AIFF from receiving muchneeded development funds at a crucial juncture of development for the game in India Patel saidAny suspension of the AIFF would also jeooardise the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers which will be hosted by India from 8 June 2022 in the footballloving city of Kolkata and for which all preparations have been completed Further the FIFA U17 Womens World Cup is scheduled to be held in three states across India from 1130 October 2022 the first time ever a FIFA womens competition be held in India and which is widely expected to boost the womens game in the countryPatel is well aware of FIFAs zerotolerance policy on thirdpart interferenceI also note that the AFC and FIFA have a zerotolerance attitude towards undue thirdparty interferenceinfluence and several member associations Pakistan Thailand Indonesia Kuwait Maldives Zimbabwe Kenya to name a few have been suspended to restore their autonomy and that a different standard cannot be applied in the case of the aiffI am also cognizant that the aforesaid timelines set by the Supreme Court though wellmeaning and in the interests of an expedited process may not be acceptable by the AFC or FIFAPatels third term in office ended in December 2020 but he had clung to a SC case which remained pending since 2017 to extend his executive committees term while refusing to hold elections till the issue of a new constitution was settled by the top courtFurther noting that the draft AIFF Statutes prepared by the ombudsmenCoA and circulated to the stakeholders needs to be in alignment with the AFC and FIFA Statutes it is my duty to request you to expedite your feedback to the same so that all comments can be tabulated per the Supreme Court order and placed before it by 30 June 2022 he further said in the letterI also appeal to experienced legal teams of the afc and fifa to guide the CoA if approached and need be in the revision of the aiff statutesOn May 18 the SC appointed a CoA headed by former top court judge AR Dave to manage the affairs of the AIFF and frame a constitution in line with the National Sports Code and model guidelinesA bench of Justices DY Chandrachud Surya Kant and PS Narasimha said the CoA would comprise two earlier members Dr SY Qureshi former Chief Election Commissioner and Bhaskar Ganguly former captain of the Indian football team besides Justice retd Dave