Sports Ministry urges FIFA, AFC to let Indian clubs play AFC tournaments

The Union Sports Ministry has requested the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to allow Indian clubs -- Sree Gokulam Kerala FC and ATK Mohun Bagan -- to compete in the tournaments as scheduled despite the ban on AIFF.

After FIFA banned the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday, there was chaos as Gokulam Kerala women's team had already reached Uzbekistan to participate in their second AFC Women's Club Championship.

The women's team is scheduled to compete against a team from Iran on August 23 and one from the host nation on August 26 in Qarshi, while ATK Mohun Bagan is slated to play in the AFC Cup 2022 (Inter-Zone semifinals) on September 7 in Bahrain.

The ministry wrote an email to FIFA and AFC, apprising them of the fact that Gokulam Kerala



was already in Uzbekistan when FIFA's suspension of AIFF was announced.

"It has requested FIFA and AFC to therefore consider allowing the team to play in the AFC Women's Club Championship (West region) in the interest of the young players," the Ministry said in a release.

The ministry said that it has also "reached out to the Indian embassy in Uzbekistan to extend assistance to the team in all possible ways. The ministry is also in constant touch with the Gokulam team's management."

On Monday, FIFA suspended India for "undue influence from third parties" and said the U-17 Women's World Cup "cannot currently be held in India as planned".

This is the first time AIFF has been banned by FIFA in its 85-year history, with the apex body saying there have been flagrant violations of the FIFA Statutes.