Roadmap still up for discussion, says new AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey

Football Federation (AIFF), hasn’t got enough sleep of late. He’s chaired meetings, met the FIFA president, interacted with two chief ministers on successive days and been busy giving shape to his thoughts. The former India goalkeeper speaks to TOI about things that need his immediate attention. Excerpts…Will the AIFF stick with the roadmap for the reform process agreed by all stakeholders, including AFC, in 2019?You have to see the pros and cons, (besides) feasibility. When there is a regime change, some agreements are always looked at (again). Maybe in certain areas, we have to work on it. We have to take every stakeholder into consideration. Someone has invested a lot, others are losing money. We have to consider all these factors. What about this season’s I-League champion getting promoted to next season’s Indian Super League (ISL), as per the roadmap?After getting elected, I met FSDL management and we discussed this subject. But in that meeting, we felt there is still lots that needs to be discussed. Also, with the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup to be organised, we decided to meet and discuss this post the tournament. Is there no clarity how the roadmap will be implemented?If you ask me, from the last meeting, I would say we did not come to any conclusion where I can say with certainty that Indian football is going in this direction.

(Kalyan Chaubey, left, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino during a recent meeting in Doha - AIFF Photo)What about the all-important Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with the marketing partners that ends in less than two years? Will the AIFF renegotiate or will it get automatically renewed, as stipulated in the contract?That is the most discussed and most talked about topic in Indian