'Maybe AIFF isn't doing enough': Vice President Subrata Dutta criticises Federation over #GoaExit

AIFF VICE PRESIDENT Subrata Dutta has expressed his dismay at the decision of Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa to withdraw their teams from the I-League, and implied that the AIFF has not been doing enough to try and stop this from happening.

Speaking to a Bengali news channel 24 Ghanta, Dutta said,

"I don't know if the Federation can be held directly responsible for this. But I'm sure they are doing this because they found it difficult to remain a part of the football family."

He pointed out at the continuous shutting down of major football clubs across the country, saying each one of the has hurt Indian football,

"It's an alarming trend that's been happening since 2009. And it really pains me to see it all unfold."

When the anchor asked him about whether the AIFF could do something about this, Dutta laid things bare as far as his rank and position within the Indian FA would allow him to,

"There are perhaps a number of things the Federation can do. But maybe the Federation isn't doing any of that. Or maybe the Federation can't figure out how to proceed in this matter. That's possible too."

Subrata Dutta was one of the first top-ranking AIFF officials to open up about the "merger plan" proposed by AIFF and IMG-Reliance. And he has been critical of the "pay and play" approach proposed for the new top division league from the start.