The AIFF Club Licensing Appeals Committee Meeting which was held at the All India Football Federation Headquarters, Football House, on Wednesday (August 21) was chaired by Justice N.K. Sud, Former Justice, Punjab & Haryana High Court.

Besides, Sanjiv Paul (Managing Director, Tata Metaliks Ltd.) and Neel Ratan (Head of Management Consultancy, PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited) also attended the meeting.

The committee reviewed the appeal filed by Pune FC and after hearing the Licensing Manager and having gone through relevant records felt that the Club Licensing First Instance Body should have considered the supplementary report placed by the Licensing Manager which states that there was no non compliance with ‘A’ Grade criteria and the only non compliance was really delayed submission of certain documents regarding criteria ‘A’.

Since the Club Licensing Regulations empowers the Licensing Manager to entertain documents if sufficient reasons exist after the deadline, the committee accepted the appeal of Pune FC and ordered the grant of both AFC and National License to Pune FC for the 2013-14 season.

As regards the letters received from the other 12 clubs the committee felt that these applications merely contain a prayer for seeking exemption and are not appeals against the decision of the First Instance Body. Accordingly these applications should be referred back to the Club Licensing Committee First Instance Body for appropriate action.

The Club Licensing Committee First Instance Body will meet on August 27.

(Report & Picture courtesy AIFF Media)