FIFA President Gianni Infantino has described India as a "passionate giant" of football, and asked the All India Football Federation to "ensure that there is a steady growth of the sport in the country." Speaking in his first visit to India since being elected president, Infantino said that he was "impressed with the work done by the AIFF with regards to introducing youngsters to football." He said, "India has always been mentioned as the 'Sleeping Giant.' But from what I have seen here I am sure that India is now the passionate giant of football." Infantino added that his aim was to "eventually make football the number one sport in the country." He said, "Football is already one of the top sports of India and it is the number one sport for the Indian youth. We aim to make it the number one sport in India for everybody" (PTI, 9/27).
FOOTBALL BRIEFS ...
FIFA's "disgraced" former Secretary General Markus Kattner has begun legal action to challenge his "unjustified" sacking, a source close to Kattner said on Tuesday. The 46-year-old, who was also FIFA's financial chief, "was fired with immediate effect on May 23 after the discovery of a secret bonus scheme" that paid out millions of dollars over a period of years. The source added, "Since his dismissal in May, Mr. Kattner has not received any reason from FIFA justifying his dismissal without notice." The payments that the German had received were "compliant with FIFA's code and approved by the compensation committee," according to the source (AFP, 9/27).
The Sports Confederation of Guatemala (CDAG) has voted to "reinstate a FIFA-appointed oversight committee, officials said, in a bid to head off the suspension" of the country's national football federation (FEDEFUT). The vote came late on Tuesday. The CDAG had blocked the committee from overseeing FEDEFUT after four local players said that they had "wrongly been accused of doping." A CDAG assembly "voted to revoke its action against the FIFA committee" (REUTERS, 9/28).