Government cut AIFF funding by more than half due to poor performance: Report

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• Apr 28, 2022 | Dhupali Das

The federation's grants under the Annual Calendar of Training and Competitions (ACTC) have dropped from Rs 30 crore for the financial year 2019-20 (for 18 months up to September 2020) to Rs 10 crore in 2020-21, and then to Rs 5 crore this year. 

Digital Desk: The government has cut financing to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) by nearly 85 percent over the last four years, citing the Indian team's poor performance, official reports said. 

The federation's grants under the Annual Calendar of Training and Competitions (ACTC) have dropped from Rs 30 crore for the financial year 2019-20 (for 18 months up to September 2020) to Rs 10 crore in 2020-21, and then to Rs 5 crore this year. 

During the ACTC meeting on March 29 in New Delhi, it was learned that federation officials made proposals that were at least three times the budgeted amount. But, the  Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) were not pleased with the proposal. 

"Considering the poor performance of the Indian football squad, AIFF was directed to closely focus on the development of grassroot-level potential," sports secretary Sujata Chaturvedi said in a meeting.

Notably, football received far less funding than other important sports, such as athletics (Rs 30 crore), badminton, boxing, hockey, shooting (all Rs 24 crore each), archery (Rs 15.85 crore), and weightlifting (Rs 11 crore). Tennis (Rs 5.5 crore), equestrian (Rs 6 crore), and sailing (Rs 5.2 crore) have all received more funding for the current fiscal year than football.

A ministry official stated that the AIFF's developmental work left a lot to be improved, citing the inability of age-group teams to impact the continental level. Moreover, the national team's performance and the men's team's ranking were also discussed during the budget meeting.

In 2019, India managed to squeak out a hard-fought tie against the hosts of this year's World Cup Qatar in their backyard. The team, led by Igor Stimac, has had a string of lacklustre performances. They failed to beat lower-ranked countries like Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the combined qualifying tournament for the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup while struggling to beat Sri Lanka, one of the world's lowest-ranked teams, and Nepal in the South Asian Football Championship.

Important events that are on the way: 

The next few months will be hectic and critical for Indian football, with the men's squad competing in the crucial Asian Cup qualifications in June and the junior women competing in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, which India will host.

The AIFF has also set a goal for the men's and women's teams to reach the quarterfinals of the Asian Games, which will be hosted in Hangzhou, China, in September, according to the ACTC minutes. However, the Indian Olympic Association has yet to confirm their participation, having rejected their submissions for the 2018 Asiad, judging them "incompetent" to win any medals.

However, the government has stated that the budget for football will be evaluated after the Asian Games based on performance. "A review will be done following the Asian Games 2022, in the month of October 2022, depending on the successes in the Asian Games, 2022, for any extra requirement of funding subject to budget availability under the 'Assistance to NSF' Scheme," the meeting minutes stated.

A top AIFF official stated that the differential treatment meted out to the sport. " Despite the government's discriminatory treatment, the AIFF has not sacrificed any activity for the senior and junior men's and women's teams.  However, it is odd that a popular activity like football receives less money than other sports with similar levels of participation and competitiveness," he said. 

Notably, apart from government support, the AIFF receives annual contributions from FIFA, the world governing body, and a large portion of its revenue comes from commercial partners Reliance Sports.

But, the Rs 5 crore it would receive this year under ACTC  is a drop in the ocean. According to audited accounts for the previous fiscal year, the pay of men's team coach Stimac is more than half of the yearly government-sanctioned budget, at Rs 2.39 crore, while legal and administrative costs together were nearly twice that amount, at Rs 9.86 crore.