AIFF President honors heroes of 1974 AFC Youth Champions team

Kolkata: All India Football Federation President Kalyan Choubey on Tuesday honored the players of the 1974 India Youth National Team, which were joint champions of the AFC Youth Championship 50 years ago, in Kolkata on Tuesday. At a packed media conference in the city, the AIFF President presented mementoes to six members of the 1974 team: captain Shabbir Ali, CC Jacob, Dilip Palit, Shishir Guha Dastidar, Ranjit Das (Gobinda) and SP Kumar.

The coach of the winning team, Arun Ghosh could not attend due to health reasons. His son-in-law received the memento on Ghosh’s behalf. IFA President Ajit Banerjee, President Subrata Dutta and Secretary Anirban Dutta were present. Speaking on the occasion, the AIFF President recalled the achievements of the 1974 team, which jointly won the AFC Youth Championship after a thrilling 2-2 draw with Iran in Bangkok, Thailand, which went to extra time.

Chaubey said, “When I started my football journey, I had heard that the 1970s were the golden era of Indian football. I would like to express my gratitude to Shabbir Da for reminding me of April 30, 1974, so that we Can celebrate it.” 50th anniversary of this famous victory.” He said, “For 48 years after India’s independence, we never focused on the FIFA friendly window, the FIFA World Cup, or even cooperation with the world of football. The then policy (1948-1998 ), we chose not to look beyond the Olympics and the Asian Games, “Is it because of this vague policy of the then decision makers that India missed 50 years of exposure in international football when countries across the world were adopting FIFA norms? Were and were participating in its development. Game fast?”

“We have begun to catch up in the last few years. However, we have already lost those five decades, which is a long bridge when we know that others are far ahead,” he said. Shabbir Ali, India captain of the 1974 team, said, “I thank the AIFF and its President Mr. Kalyan Choubey for making the effort to honor the players who brought glory to India five decades ago. It was a great tournament Where India remained unbeaten in six consecutive matches and did not allow the strong contender Iran to defeat us.

“We were a team that was determined to win and in the end we achieved it. Under the leadership of Arun Ghosh and Abdur Salam, we were a cohesive group who trained in Patiala for about a month before going to Bangkok. I am glad It is through these commendable efforts of the present AIFF that the generation will be able to know about our sports,” Ali said. Choubey said that there is a need to collect all the records of Indian football and its achievements over the years.

“The first football captain of independent India was Talimeren AO. Very little is known about him today. As per records, he is from Assam. However, the fact is that he is from Nagaland.” “I have recently spoken to the Chief Minister of Nagaland, and he has assured me that the state is very serious about reclaiming its football heritage. To this extent, we are working on a biography of Mr AO’s life “We hope that this will not only help the people of Nagaland connect with the heroes of their past, but it will also be helpful for the entire Northeast to celebrate the heroes of the region,” he said.

The AIFF President elaborated on the federation’s efforts to nurture future stars. “We are working with FIFA on the creation of various academies across the country so that we can get back to that level once again. We has already started the AIFF-FIFA Academy in Bhubaneswar, and if football legends like Arsene Wenger are involved in such processes of talent identification and development, then we will definitely soon see the FIFA U-17 World Cup on merit basis. Can play the cup,” Choubey said. “Only after getting inspiration from the past can we think about improving the present. But if we remain satisfied with the past then it is also a double-edged sword. In that case, we will run the risk of complacency.” AIFF President said.

Choubey highlighted the importance of producing a wider pool of players to improve the level of Indian football. “I am sure everyone has seen our efforts to take the Santosh Trophy to the next level. Our aim is to develop players The need of the hour is to increase our pool, we are trying to revive as many players as we can,” he said. “The Kalinga Super Cup has already started, and the Durand Cup has been organized very well for the last few years, now we are trying to revive the old glory of tournaments like Bordoloi Trophy, IFA Shield, etc. I “The leagues are also getting support from the lower levels, which are I-League 2 and I-League 3.”(ANI)