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Kalyan Chaubey, Baichung Bhutia (Image Credit: Twitter)
In what comes as big news for Indian football fans, former goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey has become the new president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). In the elections held for the post, Chaubey and Baichung Bhutia locked horns with each other. Notably, both players have played with each other for East Bengal. Talking about the elections, 34 state members participated except for Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The election results were heavily lopsided in the favor of the former goalkeeper as he won by 33-1. For the first time in the history of the AIFF, a former player will be the president of the organization. The organization is in existence for the last 85 years. Meanwhile, talking about Chaubey, he has also represented India in age-group tournaments and was part of the famous team, Mohun Bagan as well.
Talking about his achievements, he won the "Indian Goalkeeper of the Year" award in 1997–98 and 2001–02. The goalie was also part of the team which won the SAFF Championships thrice. Talking about the teams he played, he plied his trade for Salgaocar SC, Mahindra United, JCT Phagwara, and Mumbai FC apart from Mohan Bagan and East Bengal. He had a short loan spell at Bangladesh Muktiyodha, Dhaka.
After his retirement, he had a brief modeling career. He then took over as the CEO of Mohun Bagan Academy from 2010 to 2013. He was also a coordinator for the GOALZ Project- 2012, which was developed by Kolkata Police and British Council for underprivileged children.
'I will continue to work for football': Baichung Bhutia
On the other hand, Bhutia, who lost the election has congratulated his former teammate and hopes that Indian football will reach greater heights. Bhutia added that he will continue to work for the betterment of the game.
"First of all, I want to say congratulations to Kalyan. I hope under him, we will be able to take Indian football forward. Thanks to all the football fans in India for showing so much support over the last couple of days. I have been working for football before the elections, and will continue working after the elections also.”