New Delhi: The much-anticipated election for the post of All India Football Federation (AIFF) president is set to be a straight fight between the legendary Bhaichung Bhutia and former goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey, with the latter emerging as the front-runner.
Former captain Bhutia and Chaubey, an ex Mohun Bagan and East Bengal goalkeeper, were proposed by the state associations of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat respectively. The Rajasthan FA seconded Bhutia while the Arunachal Pradesh association did the same for Chaubey, who had unsuccessfully fought the Lok Sabha elections from Krishnanagar constituency in West Bengal in 2019. Sources tracking the elections of the AIFF, to be held on September 2, said that if there are no last-minute changes in strategy, only Bhutia and Chaubey will be in the fray for the president's post. Returning officer Umesh Sinha has already published the 34-member electoral college after the Supreme Court on Monday terminated the mandate of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and modified its earlier order in a bid to salvage the FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup. It is learnt that several state associations in a meeting here on Wednesday decided to field Chaubey as their "consensus" candidate for the post of AIFF president.