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Gopala Krishna Kosaraju, the former president of the Andhra Pradesh Football Association, launched a sharp attack on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its president Kalyan Chaubey, accusing them of enabling political interference and creating divisions within football administration in the state.
Kosaraju alleged that the entry of political figures into sports bodies has derailed the progress of football in Andhra Pradesh. He claimed that parallel structures were being encouraged, which has led to confusion and a decline in the sport's development. "We were duly elected in the year 2019 to 2023. We have brought in one League club also to play at Visakhapatnam in the year 2021. And we sponsored and proposed Bhaichung Bhutia, who is our Indian football legend, to represent Andhra Pradesh and to contest in the elections conducted for the All India Football Federation President in the year 2022, in the month of September 2022. But unfortunately, Bhutia lost that election. Kalyan Chaubey won that election. But the real problem started from that day only," he said. "By that time, Kalyan Chaubey and team started sponsoring and promoting one Member of Parliament, Kotagiri Sridhar, who started the "Andhra Pradesh Football Federation" with a registered office at Eluru. He started one more federation, and he has been promoted and supported by Kalyan Chaubey and team," he added. Through this statement, Kosaraju sought to underline what he sees as a turning point in Andhra football following the 2022 AIFF elections, in which Bhaichung Bhutia lost to Chaubey. He alleged that the emergence of a parallel body led by Kotagiri Sridhar has fragmented the football ecosystem in the state. In 2022, Chaubey replaced Praful Patel to become the new president of the AIFF. The former India goalkeeper defeated Bhaichung Bhutia by 33 out of 34 votes to get hold of the top seat. The AIFF President played for both the Kolkata giants, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. Apart from the Kolkata-based clubs, he also appeared for Goa's Salgaocar. Before concluding his press meet, Kosaraju reiterated his demand for corrective measures from the AIFF. "I am appealing to AIFF to correct their mistakes, which were made by their observer, and make a request to the court to conduct a fresh election with the eligible voters available in the year 2023. And another appeal I am giving to the state is: the entire club should play under one roof, as we did earlier in Vizag and in the state, for better football, which we have shown you till 2023. Now there is no football at all, simply ruined, completely spoiled, and everything is a money-making thing they are doing," he concluded. (ANI)
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