India captain Baichung Bhutia added another feather to his cap, after he was given honorary life membership to the Portugal Football Players’ Association.
Confirming the development, Football Players’ Association of India secretary Sumit Mukherjee said, “They (PFPA) sent me the card today, where it is inscribed, ‘We are honoured to give Baichung Bhutia the lifetime membership.’ I forwarded it to Baichung a little while ago.
“No wonder it’s a huge achievement and an honour for Indian football as a whole. Besides, the PFPA has also promised to help in further development of the game here if necessary,” he said.
Bhutia, being the sole representative of Indian football in the international scenario for long, now shares the dais with Cristiano Ronaldo and former Portuguese internationals Luis Figo and Nuno Gomes, all of whom are also members of the association.
The ‘Sikkimese Sniper’ has had a fair share of international acclaim when he turned out for the Zinedine Zidane-led side in an exhibition tie organised back in January by the United Nations (for the benefit of Haiti earthquake victims), against the Benfica All Stars at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon.
A couple of years ago, Bhutia had featured in the Goal4Africa charity match at the Allianz Arena, home of Bayern Munich, scoring twice for the Clearance Seedorf-led team.