New Delhi: Twelve football academies from Maharashtra have pointed out that the All India Football Federation deviated from its own guidelines while awarding accreditation for its youth leagues, conducting a “biased and unfair” process that hindered their inclusion in age-specific tournaments.
In a letter sent to AIFF’s general secretary Anilkumar Prabhakaran on Tuesday, Kenkre FC, Youth Soccer Academy, Football School of India, Mumbai Soccer Prodigies, The Soccer Academy, Sporting Clube de Thane, Rising Pune FC, Adrenaline Sports, Hungry Hearts Soccer School, City Pune FC, Snigmay Pune FC and Somaiya Sports Academy have expressed their deep disappointment at the way the entire accreditation process was conducted.
They have stated that the accreditation process was not conducted for the 2023-24 season, despite these academies spending money and investing resources to prepare for AIFF’s U-13, U-15 and U-17 youth leagues.
On top of it, the process for the 2024-25 season was not only delayed but initiated after doubling its fees from Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 that placed undue pressure on academies apart from being given little time to comply with the new guidelines.
Divide and rule?
It has left them wondering if the AIFF is picking and choosing whom to be granted accreditation to play in these youth leagues that will kick-off from January onwards.
“Is AIFF collecting a premium from academies and granting licenses to participate in the AIFF Youth League only to a select few to cover expenditure,” the clubs wrote in the letter, which is in possession of News9 Sports.
“To further compound the issue, there has been no prior communication stating that only 2-star academies would be eligible to participate in AIFF’s youth leagues.
“It has also come to our attention that some teams have been included in the leagues without undergoing the accreditation process altogether, which raises serious concerns about transparency and fairness.”
The academies said that this “flawed” accreditation process has led to their exclusion even after investing significant resources this season, which hovered around Rs 2-3 lakh per month.
The clubs have borne the entire cost of registration (Rs 25,000 per age group), TW3 tests (Rs 1,500 per child), and additional miscellaneous costs associated with participation.
Since the youth leagues provides a great scouting platform for inclusion of fresh talent in Indian football’s ecosystem, these academies requested the AIFF to include those that are rated 1-star in the age-group tournaments, as was the practice in previous seasons.
“This inclusion will not only provide young players and licensed technical staff with vital opportunities to compete but will also support the sustainability and growth of academies across the country,” the academies said.
“Restricting participation based on unclear and abrupt guidelines serves only to limit the development of grassroots football and fosters an atmosphere of favouritism.”
Fleecing the academies?
The AIFF kept a window from July 1 to July 10 for accreditation, a programme put in place for academies to meet certain criteria for functioning. Each applying academy is evaluated by AIFF’s assessors who physically inspect facilities before rating them.
The disgruntled dozen are part of 32 academies that received a 1-star rating, 25 got 2-star, 16 of them were accorded three-star while three got four-star and only two were handed five-star status in phase 1 of accreditation.
A club official said that the steep increase in fees comes as a jolt that is totally unnecessary. “It seems these clubs and academies have become a source of income for the AIFF, from whom money is being extracted rather than being given for developmental purposes,” he said, on condition of anonymity.
Another academy official observed that restricting number of academies does more harm than good as increasing participants is the need of the hour.
“If academies and cubs are not kept in good humour, will the sport ever grow. As it is concerned with children and youth, who form the grassroots programme, the AIFF can’t afford to go wrong on this domain by taking these discouraging steps,” he said.
The AIFF is yet to comment on the matter though it is expected to respond to the letter sent by the academies.
Twelve football academies from Maharashtra have raised concerns over the manner in which accreditation ratings were handed out for AIFF’s youth leagues. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
