It has been 14 months since a new dispensation took over the reins of Indian football. One of the first decisions taken was the appointment of Shaji Prabhakaran as secretary general. Since then, Prabhakaran had been one of the most visible faces of the new administration, who also courted controversy over his salary and other issues. But now, things have come to a tipping point with the AIFF Executive Committee removing him with immediate effect.
In response, Prabhakaran, Media reports suggests has sent a letter. “As per AIFF Constitution, it is the Executive Committee that can only dismiss or terminate the General Secretary,” it said. “Thus, this termination has no constitutional validity and approval of the Executive Committee.”
So what exactly happened that prompted this drastic decision, and had it been brewing for a while? Why wasn’t Prabhakaran given an opportunity to defend himself in the meeting fixed for Wednesday and Thursday, and what lies ahead for the former secretary general?
Sources in the know confirmed that at least eight Executive Committee members, some extremely influential at state level, were dissatisfied with the secretary general and pushed the issue. Things had come to a pass earlier, in July. At that point, the personal intervention of Kalyan Chaubey, the AIFF president, had saved the day for Prabhakaran. This time round, Chaubey was in no position to do much, with a majority of members protesting against Prabhakaran’s style of functioning.
“They are all upset,” said a source privy to the sudden development. “Issues of serious importance concerning state football associations, which were flagged with the secretary general, were left untouched for months. Either he wasn’t interested, or it was a case of multiple administrative lapses. Either way, the situation was dire and something had to give.”
Did Chaubey not want to save his lieutenant a second time?
“The truth is it was beyond him,” said the source. “Even if he wanted to, it wasn’t possible. The majority of members had lost faith, and the president had also seen the writing on the wall.”
The termination was done in haste to ensure that Prabhakaran did not get an opportunity to make it to the meeting and plead his case. “Things could have turned ugly,” admitted the source. “When it was beyond repair, action had to be taken. To allow him to come to the meeting made no sense.”
While Prabhakaran’s salary, 1.5 crores per annum, had earlier raised eyebrows, he had dismissed such observations by saying that many CEOs got a lot more money. He asked to be judged on his administrative skills, and ability to deliver what was expected of him. He had also said that the allegations came from people with no understanding of how sports administration worked.
“It should not be about my salary,” he had argued. “It should be about the quality of work done. About what we are doing and what we aim to do. The past is irrelevant. Today, it is time we accept that Indian football has not been monetised or commercialised. Take cricket or even kabaddi and you will know what I am talking about. Sports is a service industry and unless we serve a product to the consumer, in our case our fans and sponsors, which is of good quality, why will they come and watch us? Why will they invest in us?
“Now to the personal part. As a professional, I think I should get much more money than I get at the moment. Who decides my value? How do you know if I am being paid more or less? There are thousands of corporate CEOs who get far more money than I do. In football, we still don’t attract the best human capital because we don’t pay them well. Unless you get the best professionals, how do you market the sport and make it the best? To have the best product, you need to have the best people. This mindset of not paying will actually push Indian football back. As a professional who works 24/7 for Indian football, I expect to be compensated for my services and have a certain standard set in my eyes. Why should I settle for anything less?”
At that point, he was able to hold his own with the majority of the Executive Committee members backing him. Today, he is a lone wolf who has lost that support. Chaubey too had little option but to go with the majority decision, with issues of administrative failure having taken centre stage.
Can he make a comeback and rally support, or is it the end of him in administration for the time being? While they never say never in politics, the road back will be difficult for Prabhakaran. He has adversaries in Delhi, an association he controlled earlier, and will have to buy time before he makes his next move. For the moment, the deputy secretary general has been asked to assume the reins and a press release of some sort is expected on the issue.
*Calls to Prabhakaran for a comment went unanswered, and this story will be updated as and when he responds.
