NEW DELHI: Following Indian Olympic Association’s decision not to clear its teams’ participation in the upcoming Asian Games, the All India Football Federation says it is willing bear the costs if required.
AIFF general secretary Kushal Das labelled the stance taken by the IOA as “sad and disheartening.”
Addressing a press conference at the Football Headquarters here, Das also noted the lack of basic courtesy on the part of the IOA in not following “protocol of communication” and not even informing the AIFF as to the reasons for barring the football teams from participating in the Asian Games.
Said Das: “We have expressed our disappointment to IOA officially wherein we have even mentioned that we are willing to bear the expenses of travel and stay on our own.
“The IOA had asked for an explanation on June 4, 2018 and after that there has been no communication as to whether the IOA wants to engage further. Even the AIFF president, Praful Patel, spoke to Mr (Narinder) Batra and he was told the same thing — ‘draft an explanation for reconsideration’.”
Das further said that while the government and Sports Ministry have been supportive, the decision to clear teams for the Games ultimately rested with the IOA and not the ministry.
A senior IOA official, however, speaking to The Hindu, questioned the wisdom of AIFF going public when no official communication had been sent rejecting the team’s participation at the Asian Games.
