‘Clubs struggling to survive’: Former India captain blasts AIFF’s ASEAN Cup call to play Brazil friendly

NEW DELHI: Indian football great Bhaichung Bhutia has questioned the All India Football Federation’s decision to withdraw from the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup to play a friendly against Brazil, saying the reported Rs 50-70 crore cost of the match is difficult to justify while Indian clubs are facing financial problems.India are scheduled to play five-time world champions Brazil in Kolkata on October 3. The AIFF chose the friendly over the FIFA ASEAN Cup after the two commitments created a scheduling clash.Bhutia said he had no issue with Brazil visiting India for a free friendly but questioned spending such a large amount on the match at this stage.“If Brazil were coming free of cost to play a free friendly match, I have no problem with that. But to pay Brazil Rs 50-70 crore to come and play a friendly in India at this moment, the timing is not right. The timing is completely wrong,” Bhutia said, while talking to news agency PTI.He also criticised AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, accusing the federation leadership of “completely misguiding” the government and people involved in Indian football.“Why do you want to pay Rs 50-70 crore at this moment when ISL clubs are shutting down, club after club, and I-League clubs are struggling to pay their entry fees?” he asked.Bhutia’s comments come at a time when Indian club football is dealing with financial and administrative issues. The previous commercial arrangement between the AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) over the Indian Super League (ISL) faced uncertainty as its Master Rights Agreement neared expiry. The 2025-26 ISL season was delayed before eventually beginning in a shortened format after intervention from the Sports Ministry.Tata Steel also exited Jamshedpur FC, with the club transferred to Churchill Brothers for a symbolic Rs 100 on Friday.India had initially accepted FIFA’s invitation to take part in the new ASEAN Cup and were drawn in Division 1 Group A with Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The tournament is scheduled during the September 21-October 6 FIFA international window.However, India’s October 3 friendly against Brazil at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium created a clash with the tournament.“We have such a wonderful tournament, a FIFA-recognised event that is most probably a calendar event every two to four years, and to miss all that just to play one friendly and pay Rs 50-70 crore — that is such bad timing,” he said, as quoted by PTI.“You have a federation struggling with money at the moment, and then the AIFF wants to pay an advance fee to Brazil from that amount. I think it is such a bad decision.”Bhutia also believes the ASEAN Cup would have given India more competitive matches against teams from the region, including Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.“It is a FIFA-recognised tournament and has teams like Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, who have beaten us in Asia and World Cup qualifiers,” he said.He added that Brazil could still visit India in the future if the federation is prepared to spend on a high-profile friendly.“Brazil can always come. Argentina, Spain, France can always come and play in India when you are paying that kind of money. You can get any team to come and play, but at the moment I think the timing is wrong.”