Who is Kalyan Chaubey? 10 things to know about the new president of AIFF

Kalyan Chaubey, a former Team India goalkeeper and currently a BJP politician, beat Bhaichung Bhutia 33-1 to become the president of the All India Football Federation on Friday.

Kalyan Chaubey at the Football House in Delhi after being elected as the president of AIFF. | Photo Credit: AIFF Media

Kalyan Chaubey beat Bhaichung Bhutia 33-1 to become the president of the All India Football Federation on Friday. The former Indian National team goalkeeper succeeded Praful Patel for the post and became the first former footballer to hold the top spot in the sports body.

Here is everything you need to know about the new AIFF president:

1. Chaubey’s name was proposed by Mulrajsinh Chudasama, the General Secretary of Gujarat Football Association and seconded by Kipa Ajay, the secretary of Arunachal Pradesh Football Association (APFA).

Kalyan Chaubey is the first former footballer to become the president of the All India Football Federation. Here are 10 things you should know about the former goalkeeper and BJP member.

2. Kalyan Chaubey is a Tata Football Academy graduate. He graduated in the second batch of TFA, in 1995 and was batchmates with former India captain Renedy Singh.

3. Chaubey was a member of several age-group national teams, notably in the U-17 Asian Youth Championship 1994 (Iran) and the U-20 Asian Youth Championship 1996 (South Korea).

4. He was part of the senior Indian national team for seven years – between 1999 to 2006 – and won the SAFF Championship thrice.

Kalyan Chaubey (left) in action in the 26th Federation Cup Football tournament at the Sree Kanteerava stadium in Bangalore on November 24, 2004. | Photo Credit: The Hindu

5. Kalyan Chaubey has won the Indian Goalkeeper of the Year twice – in 1997–98 and 2001–02.

6. He has played the Santosh Trophy for five different states – Goa, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab and West Bengal.

7. As a goalkeeper, Chaubey played for several Indian clubs – Mohun Bagan AC, East Bengal FC, Salgaocar SC, Mahindra United, JCT Phagwara, and Mumbai FC.

8. Chaubey attended trials for the German club 2. Bundesliga side Karlsruher SC and Verbandsliga Württemberg outfit VfR Heilbronn in 2002.

Kalyan Chaubey thwarts Tollygunge’s Akeem Abalonlee (10) from scoring in the semifinals of the Federation Cup Football tournament. | Photo Credit: The Hindu

9. The 45-year-old served as as the Chief Executive Officer of Mohun Bagan Academy from 2010 to 2013.

10. In 2015, Chaubey joined Bhartiya Janta Party and contested the Lok Sabha elections from the Krishnanagar constituency in 2019. He lost to Mohua Moitra of All India Trinamool Congress.