New Delhi: The All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey might think the national men’s teams prolonged poor form might be due to a systemic failure, particularly dearth of quality strikers, but its deputy secretary general Satyanarayan M has beeen blamed for it.
“Our main area of focus is the lack of goal scoring and the shortage of strikers. Anyone in Indian football will agree that is our major problem. One possible measure could be to allow less foreigners and thus give more space to Indian strikers,” Chaubey said at a media interaction in Delhi on Friday.
While attempting to offer a solution, he added, “It is difficult to do at the top, so we thought to start at the bottom. These are not empty promises; We are planning for 10 years ahead. We should not look at what’s happening immediately. We should focus on the 10 year plan we’re working on”.
But Goa Football Association president Caitano Fernandes believes that Satyanarayan, who is also head of the national team department, must be pulled up for India’s inability to win any competitive match in the past one year under outgoing coach Manolo Marquez, exacerbated with a 1-0 loss away in Hong Kong in an AFC Asian Cup World Cup qualifier on June 10.
“There have been reports that the preparations for the National team were not ideal and much of the blame has to be put on the administration headed by the Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan, whose handling of crucial matters has severely damaged Indian football since he assumed his role at the AIFF in August 2023,” Fernandes wrote in a letter to Chaubey and members of its executive committee.
“His tenure has been marked by scandalous decisions, administrative failures, and political manoeuvring, leading to governance instability and declining performance of our national teams.”
In several “serious allegations and governance failures” of Satyanarayan, Fernandes mentioned that “Satyanarayan has headed the National Team department since August 2023, yet his poor leadership, political interference, and mediocrity have resulted in national team decline, reduced financial support from Govt of India, and stakeholder distrust.
“The alarming decline of the National Team performances across all age groups and genders including the Senior Team must be introspected and someone at the top needs to be made accountable for this mess.”
Disruptive, unconstitutional and interference
Fernandes pointed out that the “AIFF has witnessed two Secretary Generals depart in two years — Shaji Prabhakaran and Anil Kumar. In both instances, Satyanarayan played an instrumental role in their removal, ensuring their exit to further his personal ambition of controlling AIFF operations.”
Satyanarayan has also been blamed for the suspension of I-League relegation by the AIFF’s appeal committee, which was “an action beyond its jurisdiction”.
“As per AIFF statutes, only the league committee, executive committee, or general body has authority over such policy decisions. AIFF Secretariat’s mismanagement and questionable governance approach pose serious threats to football administration, requiring urgent corrective action.”
The accusation of interference in league committee decisions was also put forward as Fernades wrote,”The appeal committee’s decision on May 31 overturned the league committee’s ruling of February 15 regarding foreign player replacement by Inter Kashi.
“The league committee’s decision had already been approved by the executive committee, yet the appeal committee, influenced by the Secretariat, disregarded the governance protocol.
“The Secretariat allowed the registration of the player in question by adhering the direction of the league committee and now stands against its own prior approval.”
Fernandes sought “immediate investigation” on this matter to find out the official statement submitted by the secretariat to the disciplinary and appeal committees”.
“Absolutely baseless allegations,” Satyanarayan, who was present in the press conference on Friday, said when News9 Sports sought a response from him on the accusations.
GFA president Caitano Fernandes believes that AIFF deputy secretary M Satyanarayan, who is also head of the national team department, must be pulled up for India’s prolonged underwhelming performances. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
