Football
AFC Women's Club Championship 2022: Gokulam Kerala stuck in Uzbekistan after AIFF ban; requests govt intervention
After the FIFA ban, the Gokulam Kerala women's team is stuck in Tashkent. They await help from officials as they wish to participate in the competition.
Gokulam Kerala FC
One of the first groups of people to be affected adversely by the recent FIFA ban on AIFF is the Gokulam Kerala women's club. Just hours prior the media was inundated with the news of the ban, the current champions of the Indian Women's League had already reached Tashkent, Uzbekistan to particpate in AFC's Club Championship.
However, the ban means that any Indian club cannot participate in any AFC-related tournament. This comes as a huge blow for the girls who had already made the trip for the competition. The club, on 17th August, put out an official statement about the whole situation.
"It may be please seen that our women players and the club has been declared ineligible to participate in the AFC Women's Club Championship 2022 for no fault of ours," an excerpt from the club statement read.
The tournament opener for the Kerala-based side is scheduled on 23rd August. If the people higher-up, including the central government, can come to a middle ground or a short term fix, then the girls can go on with their plan to participate in the championship.
"Hence we once again humbly request your good offices to intervene and prevail over the current scenario and give us a lifeline to participate in the AFC Women's Club Championship 2022," concluded the statement.
