New Delhi: The Sports Ministry has requested the world football governing body FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to allow Indian clubs -- Gokulam Kerala FC and ATK Mohun Bagan -- compete in the tournaments as scheduled despite the ban on the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
With FIFA suspending the AIFF late on Monday, there was chaos as Gokulam Kerala women's team had already reached Uzbekistan to participate in the AFC Women's Club Championship.
The women's team is scheduled to compete against a team from Iran on Tuesday and one from the host nation on August 26 in Qarshi, while Bagan are slated to play the AFC Cup 2022 (inter-zone semifinals) on September 7 in Bahrain.
The ministry wrote an email to FIFA and AFC, apprising them of the fact that Gokulam were already in Uzbekistan when FIFA's suspension of AIFF was announced.
The ministry said that it has also "reached out to the Indian embassy in Uzbekistan to extend assistance to the team in all possible ways. The ministry is also in constant touch with Gokulam team management."
Following the news of the ban, Gokulam women's team president V C Praveen had called up the Sports Ministry with the players standing by his side.
The ministry had then promptly taken up the matter with the AFC, which offered the team an extension of 48 hours in Tashkent.
On Monday, FIFA had suspended India for "undue influence from third parties" and said the U-17 Women's World Cup "cannot currently be held in India as planned".
This is the first time AIFF has been banned by FIFA in its 85-year history, with the apex body saying there have been "flagrant violations of the FIFA Statutes".
