AIFF initiates steps to get rid of Houghton
By IANSWednesday, February 23, 2011
NEW DELHI - Bob Houghton’s days as chief national coach are numbered as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has sought legal opinion to terminate the Englishman’s contract.
The federation is using Houghton’s disaparaging remarks against it during the Asian Cup in Doha to see if it can get rid of him.
Houghton had said that the federation let the national players down in a big way by not providing them proper infrastructure.
A top AIFF official told IANS that the process to sack Houghton has been initiated.
“The executive committee was unhappy with Houghton’s report on India’s performance in the Asian Cup. The committee was also upset with his comments against the AIFF,” the official said, on the condition of anonymity.
“He had no business to use the Asian Cup platform to vent his ire against the federation. The federation accepted all his demands, be it training abroad or international friendlies. He can’t complain,” the official added.
Houghton was appointed the chief coach in 2006 and his contract runs till 2013. Houghton’s monthly salary has been increased to $30,000.
The executive committee was concerned about the national team’s poor performance in the Asian Cup. The team conceded 13 goals while losing to Australia, South Korea and Bahrain to crash out of the tournament.
During the meeting it was also decided to host the biennial Nehru Cup next year as a part of the AIFF’s platinum jubilee.
The AIFF also decided that the players and support staff of the national women’s team, which won the SAFF Championships in Dhaka, will be awarded Rs.50,000 each.
The men’s SAFF Championship has been shifted from Goa to Orissa and will be held at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack in December.
The committee decided to increase the prize money for the Federation Cup. Winners will now get Rs.1.5 million while runners-up will be richer by Rs.1 million. The Santosh Trophy winners will now get Rs.500,000 while runners-up will get Rs.300,000.
