IN A SIGNIFICANT escalation of an ongoing governance dispute within Indian football, Valanka Alemao, Executive Committee (EC) member of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), has formally approached the FIFA Ethics Committee, alleging harassment and intimidation by senior federation officials.
The move takes what was initially an internal dispute within Indian football administration to the global governing body of the sport, raising fresh questions over transparency, conduct, and institutional accountability within AIFF. Alemao, who is also a member of the FIFA Women’s Development Committee, has written directly to senior FIFA officials, including Martin Ngoga, Chair, FIFA Ethics Committee, Laura Georges – Chair, FIFA Women’s Football Committee.
In her letter dated March 30, 2026, she has sought a formal inquiry into the alleged misconduct, action under FIFA statutes and ethics regulations, intervention to address what she described as a pattern of “harassment and humiliation” of a woman member. The controversy stems from a recent AIFF Executive Committee meeting, where Alemao claims she was subjected to “unnecessary and disrespectful remarks”, raised voices “beyond acceptable decibel levels”, and conduct intended to intimidate and silence her.
She has specifically named senior officials, including AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, Vice-President N.A. Haris, and Deputy Secretary General M. Satyanarayan. The allegations reportedly arose after she raised concerns regarding procedural irregularities and governance issues within the federation.
The AIFF has categorically denied the allegations and pushed back strongly against Alemao’s claims. Key responses from federation officials include questioning the definition and validity of “heckling” and intimidation claims, stating that the meeting included multiple senior members, making such behaviour unlikely, and suggesting the allegations may be motivated or exaggerated
Additionally, the federation has levelled counter-allegations, claiming Alemao was exerting pressure to secure a “backdoor entry” for Churchill Brothers (a club linked to her family) into the Indian Super League (ISL) and that her actions stem from frustration over the rejection of that proposal.
