Will Andhra Pradesh football ever be able to stand back on its feet? There seems to be no answer to the question, leaving the hard-working players from the State to pack their bags for greener pastures or to just change the field altogether.
The last time the All India Football Federation tried to act tough and ordered the warring factions of the Andhra Pradesh Football Association (APFA) to buckle up for elections, a new legal case against the criteria for the voting rights, filed by the ‘life members’ of the State body, acted as a red card.
Now, the AIFF has taken the help of a retired High Court judge — whose identity the General Secretary, Kushal Das, was unwilling to reveal — to look in to the seemingly countless legal cases and submit a report on the possibility of conducting an election. “We expect the report to be submitted in a week or so. After looking in to its contents we will take our next decision,” Das told Deccan Chronicle.
The conclusion of the report will have added significance as the 2012 Santosh Trophy is round the corner. The deplorable sight of footballers, selected by one of the APFA factions, returning from Howrah station after discovering their ‘illegitimate-to-play’ status — published in all major dailies — is still fresh in everyone’s memory. The players hope that the State does not have to face the ignominy of not having a team in the prestigious tournament all over again.
“We hope we can conduct an election and settle the matter once and for all,” says Das. “But if a legal case again pops up, then I am afraid we can’t do much.” Even if the report gives a go-ahead for the AIFF to conduct the elections, problems still persist. What criteria will the Federation decide upon for the voting rights? Will they still go ahead with the 2002 APFA constitution, thereby ensuring that the ‘life members’ — result of a 2003 amendment — will not have the power to cast vote? And will the warring factions actually withdraw all the pending cases as promised to the AIFF? The questions are aplenty but answers are not forthcoming, at least for now.
As the die-hard state footballer would say, just kick it.