New Delhi [India], August 19 : Anilkumar, the newly appointed secretary general of the All India Football Federation, said that the federation would not give up till they succeed in improving the country's standing in FIFA Rankings and the overall quality of football in India.
Anilkumar, on Monday, August 19, 2024, joined AIFF as its Secretary General. An experienced sports administrator, Anilkumar was welcomed at the Football House by the AIFF Treasurer Kipa Ajay, on behalf of the AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, Vice President NA Haris, the Executive Committee Members and the State Associations. Present on the occasion was the AIFF Deputy Secretary General, M Satyanarayan.
Talking to the-aiff.com, Anilkumar said, "Today is Raksha Bandhan and I feel it is an auspicious day to join the national federation. And first of all, I would like to thank the President and Executive Committee members of the AIFF for appointing me as the Secretary-General."
"I know that this is a very big responsibility. I have been working with the Kerala Football Association for quite long and understand the various departments. Definitely, we will work together as a team along with the member associations and other stakeholders of Indian football to take the game ahead in the coming days."
The newly-appointed Secretary General said that though Indian football has been growing since many years, it may not have reached the expected level if one looks at the FIFA rankings, which is currently number 124th.
"So, we have a huge responsibility to improve that ranking. Our focus will be to work together with all the stakeholders to improve the quality of Indian football and make it more acceptable at the international level. With the executive committee's direction, and along with our team at the AIFF headquarters, we will do better things to improve the system," said the newly-appointed secretary general.
"The priority is always to improve in all areas, starting from the grassroots to the top division. We will sit and plan along with the club owners and investors. We will look for possible support from AFC and FIFA to study in detail, to understand where we are actually lacking and plan big things with the direction of the Executive Committee. We will try to seek the help of the state government as well as the government of India to do something in that aspect and also to plan a long-term strategy."
Anilkumar said that Indian football is lacking in quality and needs to be improved. When the quality improves, the spectator turnout and viewership will improve, and the money will come to all areas of football. "So, the priority will be the improvement of the quality of football," he felt.
"I do not know how long we will take to make it at that level. But still, we are starting with the hope that we can do something better. We will not give up until we succeed. And along with you, all Indian football fans, we will continue to work across India with those who love football, who support Indian football," Anilkumar said.
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