Did AIFF hire an ineligible individual as Head of Sports Science & Medicine?

According to reports by Khel Now, former secretary of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Shaji Prabhakaran allegedly favored his business partner, Dr. Sandeep Kumar for the role of Head of Sports Science & Medicine.

Dr. Kumar has been found to be unqualified as per the necessary competence as put up by the AIFF advertisement. He also failed to fulfil the required criteria of the Indian Society of Exercise and Medicine (ISSEM).

The AIFF has used documents and email exchanges as legal evidence against Prabhakaran in the Delhi High Court.

Kumar had been serving the senior men’s national team and youth teams since March 2023.

Particularly, under the guidance of Dr. Kumar, the first Sports Science workshop for Indian professional match officials was conducted in May 2023 by the AIFF. Dr. Kumar is said to have detailed discussions with officials on topics like strength and conditioning, recovery protocols, diet and nutrition.

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Story behind Internal Investigation by AIFF

It all started in August 2023, when the President of ISSEM, Dr. Hanjabam Sharma wrote a letter to AIFF and asked for qualifications and experience required for the Head of Sports Science & Medicine.

Initially, AIFF did not come up with a response, but were forced to be answerable after Dr. Sharma floated another letter in September 2023.

HR Department of the AIFF started investigating the matter in November 2023. Dr. Kiran Kulkarni, Head of the medical department requested Dr. Kumar to send the documents, which could make him eligible for the role.

Dr. Kumar sent the documents after multiple reminders by the HR department, which was received by Dr. Kulkarni.

During the investigation, the Federation sacked Prabhakaran with immediate effect. Soon, Dr. Kulkarni floated an email to conclude that Dr. Kumar was not eligible for the concerned post. Moreover, Dr. Kumar’s Delhi Medical Council certificate expired in 2014 and has not been renewed.

Prabhakaran challenged his termination, saying that the decision had no constitutional validity.

In its letter to Delhi HC on December 20, 2023, AIFF revealed that Shaji Prabhakaran did not follow the guidelines and awarded a contract to Dr. Sandeep Kumar without any documentation.

Prabhakaran served the role for 14 months after assuming the responsibility in September 2022. AIFF deputy secretary M Satyanarayan replaced him and is the new acting secretary general.