Praful Patel's tenure as AIFF President extended
Praful Patel is all set to continue serving as the President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) beyond December 2020 which was not the case with his tenure expiring at the end of this year. The recent Covid-19 situation has been one of the main reasons for the extension.
Praful Patel has been at the helm of affairs at the AIFF since 2012 and was re-elected for the post for a second time. With all the football leagues suspended for the time being and the scheduled FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup postponed, Patel’s stay makes all the more sense since he played a key role for India in grabbing the hosting rights for the tournament.
With the mega event postponed and major uncertainly over the rescheduling of it, the AIFF is not inclined to bring about changes to their core structure as well as conduct fresh elections reports Goal. It was under his tenure that India hosted the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2017 and also placed a successful bid to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup with Patel also a member of the FIFA Council at the moment.
Indian football has come to standstill at the moment, with all leagues suspended due to the Covid-19 outbreak. It was only this week that the AIFF cancelled the remaining matches in the I-League and the I-League 2 while awarding Mohun Bagan the I-League title. On the other hand, the Indian Super League was wrapped up just in time, even though the final was played behind closed doors.
