Efforts will be made to reduce the disparity in salary between male and female footballers: New AIFF chief Kalyan Chaubey

Days after winning the All India Football Federation (AIFF) presidential election, Kalyan Chaubey underlined on Thursday, September 8, that the new Executive Committee will aim to reduce the disparity between the salary structures of the male and female footballers.

For a long time, the penury remuneration in the Indian Women's League (IWL) has raised many concerns among players and fans alike.

In a press conference today, the new AIFF president revealed that the federation is pushing to fix a "minimum and respectable" salary cap in the IWL. Furthermore, in response to a Sportskeeda query, Chaubey averred:

“We are trying to ensure that a minimum and respectable salary cap is put in place for the IWL. Moreover, it is not right that the honorariums of footballers when they are playing for the nation should have huge differences at men’s and women’s levels. Hence, all efforts should be made to restore a balance.”

When it comes to women's football, the structure of the top-tier league in the country and also the youth leagues have been an area of concern. The former East Bengal custodian discussed in brief some of the areas that the federation will be working on in the near future. He explained:

“We are shortly introducing an Under-17 women’s league in India in association with the Sports Authority of India. Not only that, we will also be trying to ensure that the stature of the IWL grows in the near future."

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Our aim is to take the game through the government schools: AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey

Throughout the press conference, Chaubey's emphasis was on making football a part of the educational curriculum.

He opined that if the federation can reach out to government institutions and create a football ecosystem right from the grassroots level, the country can improve in leaps and bounds.

Opening up about his goals in the near future, he stated:

“Our aim is to take the game through the schools. In India, there are 16 lakh Government schools with 25 crores students. Most of these schools have a football ground each. If we can tap that area, and attach our licensed coaches with the physical trainers at the school, then a lot can be done without wasting energy and resources.”

Meanwhile, talking about the men's national team and the future of head coach Igor Stimac, who is out of contract after September 30, Chaubey emphasized that the the Technical Committee meeting of the AIFF will be summoned shortly to finalize these decisions.