All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey has come under fresh scrutiny after Valanka Alemao, head of the AIFF Women’s Committee, accused him of harassment during an Executive Committee meeting in New Delhi. The allegations, made in a formal letter, have once again brought the spotlight on governance and conduct within Indian football.
The incident is said to have taken place during the AIFF Executive Committee meeting at the Football House on March 29, where Alemao alleged she was “heckled and harassed” by senior officials. The controversy comes just days after she had raised strong concerns over administrative lapses during India’s Women’s Asian Cup campaign.
In a letter addressed to Exco members, Alemao detailed her allegations against Chaubey and other officials:
“I wish to place on record the entirely disgusting behaviour of the AIFF President Mr Kalyan Chaubey, Vice President Mr N. A. Haris and Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan.I feel deeply prejudiced and I found that several attempts were made by the President to suppress my voice.”
“The President made remarks against me which were unnecessary and disrespectful. He along with the DSG raised his tone time and again beyond an acceptable decibel with the intention to intimidate me..Throughout the course of the meeting, I was consistently targeted,” she alleged.
Valanka Alemao is the current head of the AIFF Women’s Committee and a key figure in Indian football administration. She also serves as the CEO of Churchill Brothers Football Club Goa and is the daughter of former Goa Chief Minister and club owner Churchill Alemao.
In a notable achievement, she became the first Indian woman to be appointed to FIFA’s Women’s Football Development Committee for the 2025–2029 term, further underlining her growing influence in global football.
The friction between Chaubey and Alemao appears rooted in deeper administrative disagreements within the AIFF.
Alemao, in her capacity as the women’s committee chief, had earlier written to Chaubey seeking accountability following what she described as a “series of blunders” during India’s Women’s Asian Cup campaign in Australia. The concerns ranged from issues related to team management and logistics to broader questions around decision-making.
She also flagged a lack of consultation with key bodies such as the Executive Committee and the Women’s Committee on major decisions, pointing towards transparency concerns within the federation.
Her latest allegations suggest a breakdown in communication at the highest level, with claims that decision-making processes are being centralised without adequate consultation. The Exco meeting in New Delhi appears to have brought those tensions to the surface.
The episode once again raises questions over governance standards in Indian football, at a time when the sport continues to deal with administrative and structural challenges.
