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Following the revoking of the FIFA suspension, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Saturday apologized to Gokulam Kerala FC (W) for their exit from the AFC Women's Club Championship due to the ban.
In a social media statement, the Indian football governing body underlined that players from the Malabarians who had trained so hard for the event owe an apology.
"Indian football is back on track again after FIFA lifted its suspension on AIFF on August 26. While we are happy with the turn of events, we are also extremely sorry for Gokulam Kerala FC's exit from the AFC Women's Club Championship due to the suspension."
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Furthermore, the federation appealed to all the players, staff and club management involved to 'remain strong' after missing out on the continental tournament.
"It remains Indian football's greatest loss in the last 11 days, and Indian Football owes an apology to the talented girls who had trained so hard for this event. We request the players, staff and club management to remain strong, and we are sure that they will bounce back once again."
Gokulam Kerala FC had their dreams of playing in the AFC Women's Club Championship squashed
Gokulam Kerala FC had qualified for the Women's Club Championship after winning the Indian Women's League this season. However, with FIFA imposing a ban on AIFF, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) informed the Sports Ministry and the AIFF that GKFC couldn't participate in the competition. The players were set to travel to Qarshi for their first group stage match on August 23.
Even after repeated requests from the PMO and the Sports Ministry, FIFA-AFC didn't budge and the Malabarians had to travel back to India without even playing a single minute in the tournament.
Close to two weeks after banning the AIFF due to undue influence from third parties, the international football governing body has now lifted its sanctions. But Gokulam Kerala FC players have been caught in the crossfire and their Asian footballing dreams have been snatched away in a blink.
