THE ALL INDIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION has been called upon to cancel its May 23 special general meeting in Kolkata, with warnings that proceeding as planned could amount to contempt of the Supreme Court and a breach of its own constitution.
Executive committee member Valanka Alemao Churchill objected in a letter to president, Kalyan Chaubey and deputy secretary general, M Satyanarayan, stating that the players’, coaches’, and referees’ associations must be constituted first to complete the expanded 58-member general body.
Valanka further objected to an agenda item proposing to cut eminent player representation from 15 to 4, calling it a reversal of a significant governance reform achieved through years of litigation and contrary to the Supreme Court-approved constitution, a report in msn.com said.
Article 20 of the constitution requires the general body to include 15 eminent players (5 women), 3 club representatives, and referees’ and coaches’ representatives. Applications for forming these associations were invited in December 2025 with a January 11, 2026, deadline, but the process has seen little movement.
Also, on the SGM’s agenda is a Rs 2,129 crore, 20-year commercial deal with Genius Sports covering the ISL and Indian Women’s League. Valanka cautioned that approving an agreement of this magnitude without a fully constituted general body would breach Article 21.1. The AIFF intends to hold a separate meeting with ISL club owners the day before the SGM to discuss the proposal and has also announced a five-year academy MoU with the Odisha government.
