Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Wednesday slammed the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its President Kalyan Chaubey, accusing them of destroying the sport. This came after India crashed to a 1-0 defeat to Hong Kong on Tuesday in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
“It’s very painful to see… we are definitely struggling now to even qualify for the Asia Cup, which we’ve been qualifying for regularly. Countries like Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Jordan have qualified for the World Cup, and we are still struggling for the Asia Cup. Very unfortunate,” Bhutia said to PTI.
“Kalyan Chaubey has destroyed Indian football. Chaubey has to resign and leave. He has completely destroyed it. Three General Secretaries in two-and-a-half years — the entire structure, the system will have to be changed,” he said.
“Controversy after controversy, corruption charge… even after months now we don’t know who the I-League winner is,” he added, referring to the ongoing legal tussle between Inter Kashi and Churchill Brothers for the championship.
He also accused Chaubey of bypassing the Technical Committee to appoint Manolo Marquez and criticised the decision to let the Spaniard simultaneously coach both FC Goa and the national team. He also criticised the decision to bring talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri out of international retirement, saying it was a poor call driven more by desperation than planning.
“It was nice of him to come out of retirement, but it was a completely bad decision. Manolo should not have requested, and now we hear the Federation pushed for it. But what’s changed?” he asked.
“There is nothing happening at the grassroots. It’s all negative news off the field, and that reflects on the national team’s performance,” he added.
The loss on Tuesday left India’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup hanging by a thread — a stark contrast to their recent back-to-back appearances at the continental showpiece.
