India are gearing up for their Fifa international friendly against Thailand on Wednesday and next week’s crucial AFC Asian Cup Qualifier Group C away match against Hong Kong.
And in the build-up to these two matches, a contentious issue of non-payment of dues to the Indian footballers has come to light.
An email was sent to the All India Football Federation on behalf of the footballers on May 26 highlighting the issue.
“Some of the Senior National Team Players have their previous allowances/fee/ award winnings pending for a considerable amount of time,” the email, which The Telegraph has access to, stated.
“We would be thankful if this matter can be looked into and settled as soon as possible since the players have already started another camp now, which will go on for a considerable amount of time.”
“... Pending for a considerable amount of time” — it has been learnt — from the summer of 2023 when India won three trophies in four months under former national team coach Igor Stimac.
In fact, a senior footballer is yet to receive the prize money for the most valuable player award he won a few years back.
India have played 16 matches in the calendar year 2023, 11 — including the AFC Asian Cup — in 2024 and two till now this year.
While the players are not for a confrontation with the AIFF, they want to know when the dues will be cleared.
“They play for the country, the badge. It’s an honour for them to represent the national team on the international stage, but the basic daily allowance needs to be paid. They do not want to be seen as mercenaries,” someone in the know of things told this paper.
Last year, the AIFF shelled out $400,000 (approximately ₹3.36 crore at that point in time) after tax as compensation for terminating Stimac’s contract unilaterally.
The daily allowance for the national team players varies between Rs 1800-2400.
The sports ministry guidelines say: Admissible out of pocket allowance (OPA) during competitions for sportspersons, coaches and others: $50 per day for Olympic Games/Asian Games/CWG/World Cup/World Championships; $25 per day for all other international events including South Asian Games; Full OPA shall be payable for first seven days and at 75 per cent for days next seven days and upto 15 days and at 50 per cent for subsequent days.
In some cases, the Sports Authority of India directly transfers the amount to the bank accounts of the respective players or disburses funds to the national sports federations who do the needful.
The AIFF, when contacted, said there have been no long-pending dues.
“I can confirm that there are no long-pending dues for the national team players. However, two senior AIFF officials — Subrata Paul, national team director and Velu Dayalamani, national team manager — are stationed with the national team and they have not received any communication regarding any payment issues for the national team players which needs to be forwarded to the AIFF headquarters,” M Satyanarayan, deputy secretary general of the AIFF, told this paper.
“There are, however, certain allowances that are to be paid directly by the Sports Authority of India into the beneficiaries’ accounts.
“In such cases, the AIFF’s role is limited to forwarding the bank account details of the concerned individuals and following up on the matter, which the AIFF has been doing regularly.”
The players, though, maintained that no money has been credited to their accounts till now. “That’s for sure,” a source said.