Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
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When Sporting Clube de Goa pulled out of the upcoming I-League citing a lack of vision and direction by the AIFF, it was a sad decision for Indian football but the war of words which has followed thereafter between the AIFF and Sporting Goa has turned ugly and personal.
It was surprising to hear AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das initially say that the federation was not bothered about any team pulling out as others were there to fill up the spots.
In the context of Goa he ridiculed clubs like Salgaocar FC, Sporting Clube de Goa and Dempo SC for no fan following and said about the newcomers, “FC Bardez have a bigger fan following than these clubs. I have seen them in the Goa Pro League.”
This statement was followed by a harsh and punishing letter from Sporting Clube de Goa CEO Victor Fernandes, who termed AIFF GS Kushal Das as living in a fool’s paradise for his assessment of Goan football.
The Flaming Oranje went to the extend to say that the downward spiral of Indian football was to be blamed on AIFF president Praful Patel and General Secretary Kushal Das.
Here you can read the whole letter: Sporting Clube de Goa CEO says AIFF GS Kushal Das lives in a fool’s paradise!
The next statement now came from AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das, who told scroll.in, “What Sporting Club de Goa says about me or AIFF is irrelevant. A team which could not get 500 fans for their Federation Cup home semifinal last year should wake up and smell the coffee.”
Now it will be interesting to see, if and how Sporting Clube de Goa reply.
But to me there is only one conclusion in this whole episode. There has been no direct communication, whatever has been said was done through the media, no one has questioned if the facts presented by both sides were right or wrong, which in the end leaves Indian football in a very poor light.
