Kalyan Chaubey becomes the new AIFF Prez

New Delhi : Former Mohun Bagan and East Bengal goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey has become the new All India Football Federation President after besting former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia 33-1 in polls decided by the 34-member voters’ list made up of state association representatives.Chaubey, a Bharatiya Janta Party leader from West Bengal, has become the first former national team player to be elected as the head of Indian football’s governing body. The election results come on the back of a dark phase in Indian football, having suffered a temporary ban from the world football governing body, FIFA owing to a classic case of third party interference after the Supreme Court appointed a Committee of Administrators to run the daily operations at AIFF. While the participation of Bhutia, a premier football figure in the country and the second most capped India player of all time, had brought the election into more light, his counterpart had been seen as a favorite owing to his political experience. The 45-year-old had contested and lost in the 2019 general elections in Krishnanagar.