Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Football Association (APFA) secretary Kipa Ajay has been elected as the new treasurer of All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Kipa defeated Andhra Pradesh Football Association president Gopalkrishna Kosaraju by a margin of 33-1 votes in the AIFF’s executive committee polls that were held on Friday.
Kipa, who is also the general secretary North East Football Development Council (NEDFC), had filed his nomination for the post of treasurer in the apex footballing body of the country amid the hustle and bustle of FIFA ban and other issues pertaining to the future of AIFF.
By filing his nomination, he had become the first candidate from the northeast to contest for the coveted position.
Kipa, who was elected unopposed as secretary of APFA for the second term earlier this year, has been tirelessly working towards the development of football in Arunachal along with the incumbent executive members of the association.
Some of the major highlights of the APFA in the past three years include three silver medals in the Sub-Junior Nationals Football Championship (Boys: 2018, 2019, Girls: 2019), hosting the Sub-Junior (Boys) and Senior Women’s National Football Championships in Arunachal in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
The association has also played a major role in producing many young talents from the state with Gyamar Nikum and Kojam Beyong being the most recent ones who are performing exceptionally well at the club level.
The APFA is led by chief minister Pema Khandu as its president.
Congratulating its secretary for his feat, the APFA in a statement said Kipa’s victory is a historic feat for the entire northeast region.
“The APFA is confident that Kipa will work tirelessly and at his best capacity for the development of football in the country as he has been doing for Arunachal for the past many years. We wish him the best for his future endeavors,” the association said.
The APFA also congratulated Kalyan Chaubey and N A Haris for being elected as the president and vice-president of AIFF respectively.
While Chaubey defeated former Indian football team captain Baichung Bhutia in the polls for the top post, Haris won the election for the lone post of vice-president, besting Manvendra Singh of Rajasthan Football Association.
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