Kamal Ghorui
Panaji: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has accused its executive committee member and Churchill Brothers CEO Valanka Alemao of exerting “sustained pressure” on the federation to facilitate the inclusion of the Goan team in the top-tier Indian Super League (ISL).“Between January 8 and February 15, Ms. Alemao and members of her family exerted sustained pressure on the AIFF to facilitate the inclusion of Churchill Brothers FC Goa in the ISL through exceptional means,” AIFF said in a statement on Monday. “However, the federation was unable to accommodate this request due to existing rules, regulations, and commitments made to stakeholders.”The statement came on the day Valanka accused AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, vice president NA Haris and deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan of intimidation and harassment during the executive committee meeting on Sunday.Churchill Bros, who are not part of either the ISl or second tier Indian Football League (IFL) this season, have been up in arms against the AIFF due to last season’s I-League title race, where they were first declared champions. However, the title was later awarded to Inter Kashi, who won two appeals in the Court of Arbitration for sport (CAS).“In order to remain compliant with the applicable regulations and legal obligations, AIFF could not include Churchill Brothers in the ISL. Following this, several legal petitions were filed by members of Ms. Alemao’s family. Despite being an executive committee member of AIFF, she repeatedly attempted to influence proceedings during official meetings with the objective of securing the inclusion of her club in the ISL,” said AIFF.According to the statement, Valanka “strongly pressed” for the convening of an emergency executive committee meeting, which could not proceed on Feb 9 due to lack of quorum. Another meeting was called three days later where the proposal to include Churchill in ISL was rejected.“On Feb 14, the opening day of the ISL season, further requests were made by her family for AIFF to convene a third emergency executive committee meeting on the same matter. Given that the issue had already been deliberated upon and decided by the executive committee, AIFF did not consider it appropriate to reconvene the body.“Subsequently, legal petitions were filed before the Delhi High Court. The AIFF reiterates that all meetings and decisions of the federation are conducted strictly in accordance with its Articles of Association and established procedures,” said AIFF.
