Shattered dreams, false hope, sympathy from the hosts in Uzbekistan and total radio silence from the All India Football Federation. That's how Gokulam Kerala's women's team have been spending their time in Tashkent, where they went to play in the AFC Women's Club Championship. They couldn't take part in it because of FIFA's ban on the AIFF. But what hurts as much is the mixed messaging from the various official bodies in India, and the indifference of those who are charged with running Indian football.
Gokulam Kerala will be returning to India without playing a match, with Asian Football Confederation eventually confirming that they would not be able to participate unless FIFA's suspension was lifted. Currently, they are looking for flight tickets, with the most likely option being a return on August 23.
Their team manager, Kevin Kishore, spoke to ESPN about what they have gone through in the five days they have spent in Uzbekistan:
16 August, Tuesday: Day 1
We got the news of the ban while we were boarding our flight to Tashkent. On our arrival, we got a warm welcome at the airport by the Uzbekistan Football Association (UFA), who took us to the hotel. I then got a call from the AFC competition department informing us that we are ineligible and that we needed to look for a flight back as soon as possible.
I asked for a written confirmation and they said they needed some time for that. The first thing we did after that was to call a team meeting and inform the players about what was happening. To lift the mood, we arranged a city tour, with the help of UFA. During the city tour I saw a tweet by a journalist saying AFC had written to AIFF saying we are ineligible. I checked our mail, there was nothing. I twice called the AIFF league department, which usually forwards AFC mails to us. They didn't answer.
I then called a friend in the AIFF and asked for confirmation and he send it to me unofficially. I spoke to another friend in the AIFF and he told me we won't be able to play if things stands as it is. We rushed back to the hotel and, as our team owner directed, wrote an email to the Prime Minister. I spoke with some journalist friends and they told me there would be an urgent hearing in the Supreme Court and the issue might get resolved soon. The saddest part of the day was that those in the AIFF who had lectured me on the importance of sending emails during the IWL, failed to send such an important communication from the AFC to a team that was stranded in another country for no fault of ours. Till date, we haven't got the official communication sent by AFC stating that we are out of the tournament from the AIFF. Of course, AFC communicates with only member associations and not with the clubs.
17 August, Wednesday: Day 2
We were supposed to leave for Qarshi [where the matches were scheduled] along with an Iranian team. But the UFA didn't send us the tickets, saying AFC had asked them to not take us there. They told us it would be better we leave, as there was no hope of us playing. I called the AFC, they asked us to leave as soon as possible and said that they had rescheduled the matches. We then called the AIFF, who also told us that it would be difficult [to play]. But they asked us to wait for a couple of days for a clearer picture.
I then spoke to a journalist in India who told me about the court proceedings. He checked with the Solicitor General's office and got me a contact in the sports ministry. I spoke to the ministry and they said they'd sent a letter to the AFC and FIFA. I then called up the AFC, who told me we could wait till August 19. Suddenly, we got a sliver of hope. We felt something was happening and we could finally travel to Qarshi to play the match. Meantime, we arranged a gym and pool session for the players.
We are ready to take everyone on for these girls, no matter what stands on the way.
Requesting clubs in India to join hands, to do the best we can for these players. @KeralaBlasters @ChennaiyinFC @HydFCOfficial @OdishaFC pic.twitter.com/28RQnqYkOb
- Gokulam Kerala FC (@GokulamKeralaFC) August 17, 2022
18 August, Thursday: Day 3
We spoke with the sports ministry in Delhi. They told us there'd been no response from the AFC or FIFA. We started to panic again. Meanwhile, the UFA arranged an artificial turf and transport for us to train.
We wrote to the CoA, the ministry and AFC -- and we spoke to the Committee of Administrators. They promised us that they will do whatever they can to make us play.
August 19, Friday: Day 4
Our operations head travelled to Delhi, as it was the last day of the 48 hours that AFC had given us. At the same time, we spoke to our lawyer to get legal advice on the matter. After our Ops head connected with the sports ministry, Sports Authority of India contacted me. They reassured me that the government was trying hard to convince FIFA and the AFC, that they had sent follow-up mails and were in contact with FIFA. The External Affairs ministry asked the Indian Embassy here to contact me and they offered us help, if we needed any. They assured us that we were not alone and we could dial them anytime for any help.
Meanwhile UFA informed us there won't be any ground to train on that day and apologised for the inconvenience. AFC then called us and asked us our travel plans, and we told them that we would leave only when our sports ministry asked us to leave. AFC replied to the mail saying that they cannot do anything unless the ban is lifted.
We also spoke to a good friend in the AFC to know what is happening. He said that AFC had already rescheduled the matches. He was not happy to hear that the AIFF hadn't communicated with us. He told us that we should protest, as AIFF was our parent organisation and this shouldn't happen especially as we are in a foreign country. He advised us to start working on an evacuation plan.
The most painful thing is that no one in the AIFF other than a friend of mine asked us about what was happening. They didn't even make at least a courtesy call. My attempts over two days to speak to the AIFF women's department was futile. The one time I was able to speak to someone, it was about the flight back as some of the players had to join the national camp. Even AFC asked me why AIFF was not briefing us about these things.
UFA were much more helpful and compassionate than our own parent organisation.
Finally we wrote an email to FIFA but there was no response, and the day ended with a call from SAI saying we could only hope for the best tomorrow.
August 20, Saturday: Day 5
I got a call from SAI at 7 am saying FIFA had sent an email regarding the ban. He said he was going to speak with AFC and get back to me.
Meanwhile UFA arranged a training ground.
SAI then called us, saying AFC had asked us to leave and won't include us [in the tournament] unless the ban is lifted. They asked us to arrange the return and told me we could contact them for any help. I also got a call from the Indian Embassy saying they were ready for any help.
After the training session, we had a team meeting and we informed the players of the decision to leave. I was not able to face any of the players. Three months of hard work have been shattered. The players teared up, but we didn't have any answers for them.
We agree that in these regulations of [the administrative bodies], it is not written to be compassionate but we shouldn't forget that players are also humans, not expendables.
We are grateful to everyone who extended their support towards our women's team in the last few days. These players are our family and we will comeback stronger than ever.
A special thanks to @IndiaSports @PMOIndia for helping the team through this difficult times. pic.twitter.com/8KY48MHWxm
- Gokulam Kerala FC (@GokulamKeralaFC) August 20, 2022
Kevin Kishore is Gokulam Kerala FC's team manager.