Incumbent Praful Patel was unanimously elected the president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held here on Wednesday.The electoral process was completed in the presence of the appointed returning officer Justice Bipin Chandra Kandpal (retd.) who declared that Patel was elected for the term 2017-2020, an AIFF release said."I declare Mr. Praful Patel unanimously elected as the President of the All India Football Federation. All nominated persons for the posts of Executive Committee members have also been elected unanimously, subject to the final outcome of the pending court proceedings. Congratulations to all of them," Justice Kandpal said.Dilip Kumar Singh also attended the AGM as an observer on behalf of the government of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, while Kuldeep Vats was the observer on behalf of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).Purushottam Kattel, the International Relations Officer of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and world governing body FIFA Regional Developmental Officer, South and Central Asia, Shaji Prabhakaran were also present on the occasion.
"On behalf of the AIFF, I can assure you of the highest standard of ethics and transparency," Patel said after being re-elected."I thank all of you for your support and am grateful for your continuous support. I take pride in the fact that I have been given the honour of heading one of the most professional sports bodies in the country."The Special General Meeting (SGM), which was also held unanimously, approved the proposed amendments to AIFF's constitution.The amendments aimed to bring the AIFF constitution in line with the FIFA and the AFC constitutions, clarifying and modifying certain definitions to avoid anomalies and ambiguities, striving for more transparency in governance by including independent members in committees like finance and audit, development and judicial committees.The amendments will also ensure that the composition of the AIFF Executive Committee will be of 20 members, including two women members.The committee would also include a former player, who has represented India in a minimum of 25 official international matches.