'If You Put A Joker There...': Bhutia Lambasts Chaubey For Turning AIFF Into 'Circus'

Last Updated:June 20, 2025, 19:55 IST

Bhutia gave a scathing review of Kalyan Chaubey as he stated that the AIFF chief had turned the Federation into a circus and termed the head a joker.

Bhaichung Bhutia. (X)

Legendary Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia gave a scathing review of AIFF Chief Kalyan Chaubey’s tenure at the helm of the national governing body for the sport in India.

Bhutia stated that Chaubey had turned the All Indian Football Federation into a circus and termed the head a joker.

“It is very unfortunate that we are 133rd in rankings. We can all see we are struggling in the Asian Cup Qualifiers," the 48-year-old said.

“I believe we have a good chance of qualifying but at the same time we have to realise that the Asian Cup now has 24 teams, compared to 16 during my captaincy, so we must qualify," he added.

“Our great President Kalyan Chaubey had earlier said we will be in the top 10 in Asia by 2026. Now he is saying we should have prepared for this 10 years ago," the Sikkimese Sniper said.

“In three years under Kalyan Chaubey, even our women’s team has gone down," Bhutia continued.

“I think he himself does not know what ‘Vision 2047’ is."

The Blue Tigers have had to endure a challenging couple of years, including 2024 which saw the Indian national team end the year without a win. Spanish tactician Manolo Marquez took the reins of the squad, in addition to his role at FC Goa, following the departure of former head coach Igor Stimac, but the Indian side’s displays at the international level have looked bleak despite the return of Sunil Chhetri, who came out of retirement on the reequest of Marquez.

“Anybody following Indian football knows it’s a circus right now, and obviously if you put a joker in that position then that is what will happen," he said.

Bhutia also defended the allegations against his Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools of taking undue advantage by playing on emotions.

“I usually don’t talk about Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools during a press conference but it is high time," the former striker said.

“We had started the tournament 12 years back and within 2-3 years we decided we needed to be sustainable. That is when we started the after-school programme. 30% of students are on a full scholarship whereas 70% were focused on after-school programmes. We have got 220 coaches, 70 centres and are the biggest grassroots programme in the nation. All the money that comes in goes towards our goal," he explained.

“Kalyan had talked about the FIFA Academy, four players were from our school. He talked about the women’s academy, our club Garhwal FC had won the Indian Women’s League 2 tournament in which Indian Arrows finished runners-up. He himself has not done anything to contribute to football, even when he played he was focused on politics," Bhutia signed off.

(With Inputs From IANS)

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