New Delhi [India], July 29 : AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey reiterated the decision to create a Benevolence Fund to support individuals associated with football, including ex-players, coaches, referees, match officials, support staff, and even football journalists.
An AIFF release said the fund will provide a one-time grant for medical purposes, with terms and conditions to be set by the relevant committees.
He cited recent instances where individuals sought financial help for serious medical conditions, but AIFF lacked a specific fund or policy to support them. To initiate the fund, the President announced a personal contribution of RS 1,00,001, which was matched by Vice President NA Haris, bringing the initial total to RS 2,00,002.
AIFF will also contribute an amount of Rs 5,00,000 to the Benevolence Fund, thereby raising the initial corpus to Rs 7,00,002. Furthermore, the AIFF will proactively explore avenues to enhance the fund over time, including the organisation of charity matches and mobilising support from other potential sources of revenue and partnerships.
A dedicated committee will be formed to evaluate applications on a case-to-case basis, comprising members from the Treasurer's office, the Finance Committee, the Medical Committee, and the Technical Committee.
The AIFF President emphasised that this initiative is a humanitarian gesture, recognising the lifelong contributions of those who have served Indian football. In addition to the Benevolence Fund, the President proposed the establishment of a Pension Fund for AIFF employees who have served 20 years or more and have retired from the organisation at the age of 60 or later (the terms and conditions will be set by the relevant committees).
To implement the above, the All India Football Federation's Finance Committee met at the Football House in New Delhi on Tuesday and approved the opening of new bank accounts for the Benevolence and Pension Funds.
In addition to this, the members of the Finance Committee reviewed the accounts for the financial year 2024-25 and sent them for audit. The Finance Committee also proposed a new procurement policy, which will be forwarded to the Executive Committee for approval at its next meeting.
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