AIFF AGM & elections to be held on December 20

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The elections of the office-bearers of All India Football Federation will be held in its Annual General Meeting here on December 20, the AIFF said today.

This was decided at the Executive Committee meeting, chaired by AIFF President Praful Patel, here.

A retired judge of the Delhi High Court will be appointed as Returning Officer. The Executive Committee also agreed to request the Indian Olympic Association, FIFA and AFC to send observers for the AIFF elections.

There may be changes in the top decision-making body of the AIFF, with a couple of vice-presidents likely to make way for new ones, though Patel is expected to continue for his second term at the helm of affairs.

If the AIFF is to follow Sports Code of the government in the elections, vice-president A R Khaleel is expected to be replaced by someone from the south zone as he has served two terms in that post and is also above 70 years of age.

There were also reports that the all-powerful senior vice-president Subrata Dutta, who has also served two consecutive terms, may face competition from other candidates from the east zone.
Indian Football Association President Utpal Ganguly is said to be interested in the post of AIFF vice-president from east zone. The elections to the vice-president's post of the AIFF are held on zonal basis.

It was also decided that the next Santosh Trophy will be held in two venues in Uttar Pradesh and Kerala in February/March 2013, the dates for which will be announced shortly.

The Kerala Football Association (KFA) has also been granted permission to host the proposed Kerala Premier League as long as it is organised under the AIFF guidelines.

The committee also endorsed the view that the national team should play as many international friendly matches as possible next year to improve India's FIFA rankings.