It is a historic moment for not just Arunachal Pradesh but for the entire Northeast when Ajay Kipa was elected as the treasurer of All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Ajay Kipa who is also the secretary of the Arunachal Pradesh Football Association is the first from the region to hold the key position in the apex football body of the country.
“As I’m from Northeast, I have specific plans to develop the football scene in the region. We have to sit together, find out the shortcomings and work on these so that we can march forward to new heights,” Kipa said in Guwahati on his way back to home from New Delhi.
The office bearers of the AIFF led by president Kalyan Chaubey, a former goalkeeper, just recently assumed office after the debacle of Supreme Court interference and FIFA suspension in between.
Congratulating Chaubey on behalf of the Northeastern states, Kipa said that the new president has done a fantastic job by appointing IM Vijayan as the chairman of the new AIFF technical committee.
“It’s a very crucial decision to keep a player who has vast experience and knowledge of the game as the chairman of the technical committee. Apart from that, we have Eugeneson Lyngdoh, a former India international and an MLA from Meghalaya as one of the members of the technical committee. Former India captain Shabbir Ali was unanimously named as the chairman of the advisory committee. These are some of the decisions which will help the game grow in the country,” Kipa reckoned.
We congratulate Mr. @kalyanchaubey on being elected as the President, Mr. @mlanaharis as the Vice President, and Mr. Kipa Ajay as the Treasurer of the All India Football Federation 🙌🏼#AIFFGeneralBodyElections2022 🗳️ #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/YRwexiUntx
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 2, 2022
Kipa further said that he has already requested president Chaubey to visit the NE states and get a first-hand experience of the problems that are needed to be addressed.
Northeast League: “We have been thinking of conducting a separate league for the Northeast states. It can be an age group or in the senior level. But definitely, a league will have to start. Let’s see how this can be initiated,” Kipa added.
Allegations against Kiren Rijiju baseless
Ajay Kipa also slammed the people who have been trolling the union law minister Kiren Rijiju alleging him of influencing the AIFF elections with politics.
“This is unfortunate that a section of people is trolling Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju. The allegations that he has used his political influence in the elections is not true. Kiren Rijiju has been a great supporter of Indian sports and he wants India to excel in sports,” Kipa stressed.
