New Delhi: Three months after All India Football Federation’s president Kalyan Chaubey was accused of violating its ethics code, a similar complaint has been made against secretary general Anilkumar Prabhakaran.
A lawyer named Bijoy TJ has written a letter to AIFF’s ethics committee, raising multiple potential ethical violations of Anilkumar during his tenure as general secretary of Kerala Football Association, the post he left to join the AIFF as a salaried professional.
“I am writing to formally lodge a complaint against Mr. Anilkumar Prabhakaran, currently serving as the Secretary General of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), for serious ethical violations committed during his tenure as General Secretary of the Kerala Football Association (KFA). These violations, necessitate a thorough and impartial investigation by the AIFF Ethics Committee,” Bijoy wrote.
Five instances of misconduct
He has put forward five instances of potential violations that include creation of Scoreline, the company that manages the KFA’s marketing rights and operates the Super League Kerala, the inaugural edition of which was held last season.
“Mr. Anilkumar Prabhakaran and his wife founded Scoreline, a company that currently manages the KFA’s marketing rights and operates the Super League Kerala. Prior to the KFA granting these rights to Scoreline, ownership of the company was transferred to Mr. Navas Meeran, the current President of the KFA. The company has since been transferred to Mr. Meeran’s son,” he said.
“This sequence of events strongly suggests a pre-arranged agreement designed to circumvent conflict of interest regulations. Mr. Prabhakaran’s initial ownership of Scoreline, followed by its transfer to the KFA President and then his son, constitutes a clear and serious ethical breach. This arrangement allowed Mr. Prabhakaran to potentially benefit from his position within the KFA, compromising the integrity of the association and raising serious concerns about transparency and fair play.”
Bijoy has also highlighted allegations of misappropriation of funds of 2015 SAFF Championship that was held in Kerala during Anilkumar’s tenure while also pointing at mismanagement of funds from other competitions.
“During the 2015 SAFF Championship held in Trivandrum, funds were allocated to the KFA by the AIFF through SAFF. Following the competition, a significant balance remained in the designated SAFF Championship bank account operated by the KFA.
“Credible information suggests that this balance was withdrawn by Mr. Anilkumar Prabhakaran but was never deposited into the KFA’s general account. The whereabouts of these funds remain unknown and require immediate investigation,” he wrote.
“Furthermore, the AIFF’s financial settlement with the KFA regarding the SAFF Championship should be scrutinized for potential over-invoicing or fabricated expenditures designed to conceal the missing funds.
Demand for investigation and interrogation
Given the alleged irregularities surrounding the 2015 SAFF Championship, Bijoy has also requested AIFF’s ethics committee to launch a “comprehensive review” of financial management of all AIFF or international competitions hosted by the KFA during Anilkumar’s tenure as general secretary from 2012 to 2024.
“There is a strong possibility of similar misappropriation of funds from competition-specific bank accounts after the conclusion of these events,” he said.
Anilkumar was also accused of misusing his position as chairman of KFA’s competitions committee apart from seeking “unfair advantage and conflict of interest”.
“Mr. Prabhakaran has allegedly misused his position as Chairman of the AIFF Competitions Committee to create regulations that restrict other franchise-based state leagues from hiring overseas players. However, he has given special permission to the Kerala Super League (KSL), owned by Scoreline Sports, to recruit overseas players,” he said.
“The special permission granted to KSL has resulted in KSL being the only league outside of the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League allowed to recruit foreign players. This has led to substantial financial gains for KSL/Scoreline in terms of franchise fees, media rights deal, and sponsorship revenue.”
Anilkumar was appointed by the AIFF on July 20, 2024 and took over as secretary general on August 19, 2024. He succeeded Shaji Prabhakaran, who was sacked in November 2023 over alleged breach of trust.
Shaji has since challenged his ouster in the Delhi High Court while a plea has also been filed against AIFF over legality of Anilkumar’s appointment. Last month, the KFA appointed former referee Shaji C Kurian as its new general secretary.
In December, Shaji had sent a letter to chairperson of AIFF’s ethics committee against Chaubey over several allegations of misconduct.
Anilkumar didn’t respond to calls or texts when News9 Sports tried to contact him. The AIFF is yet to speak on the matter too.
A demand for a probe has been made to the ethics committee citing multiple potential ethical violations of AIFF secretary Anilkumar Prabhakaran during his tenure as general secretary of Kerala Football Association Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
