ISL 2018: Ex-Chennaiyin FC star alleges corruption in Indian football

What's the story?

In a series of screenshots from an email conversation, former Indian international player Godwin Franco has raised concerns regarding the integrity of selection in Indian club football circuit.

Godwin, who has won the Indian Super League title with Chennaiyin FC in 2015, took to social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to raise a storm. He claims to have sent an email to FIFPro (International Federation of Professional Footballers) while it is his conversation with a member of FPAI (Football Players’ Association of India) which has been flashed in the media. Godwin has alleged that FPAI, in reply to one of his concerns, asked him to use unfair means to get into a club in India.

In case you didn't know...

Godwin has been in professional football for over 15 years now. He has won over 14 trophies with various clubs including ISL with Chennaiyin. He has two international caps in 2006 as well. The Sesa Football Academy graduate made the headlines after being selected for a trial by former Bundesliga champions Fortuna Dusseldorf in 2013. Currently, he is playing for C.D Guadalupe in the football league in Mexico after making a comeback from a major road accident in 2015.

The heart of the matter

Godwin is in the news recently after raising this controversial issue of malpractice in Indian football. The 33-year-old Indian international has uploaded three screenshots which he claims to be a part of his email conversation with FPAI and FIFPro.

The major point of contention has been the reply from FPAI which he has been highlighted to put forward his demand for a fair and transparent selection process in Indian clubs.

With the best interest :
Please read this & read from the picture posted. The corrupt attitude in Indian Football . I have the emails with me.
1. Part of my email to fifpro & the football players association of india in relation to justice for football players in India. pic.twitter.com/OT4lolgUWn
— GODWIN FRANCO (@GodwinFranco7) July 27, 2018

2. The immoral reply to me from football players association of india which says ” if you claim that there are Agents who get players "in" , why do
you not use these same agents?”
— GODWIN FRANCO (@GodwinFranco7) July 27, 2018

The series of tweets can be seen below where the midfielder is claiming that the FPAI literally turned a blind eye to his concerns while encouraging him to engage in foul practice to get his spot in a club team.

3. (Firstly I do not want to and will not play professional football in India again)
My reply to that to the football players association of india. “Please donot tell me to use unrighteous methods of getting into clubs. This is totally wrong on your part to tell me to do this.”
— GODWIN FRANCO (@GodwinFranco7) July 27, 2018

- This is a reason why quality of football at display in India has been very poor overall, as there are people who get players who do not have abilities of a football player, who do not deserve, “in" teams through corrupt means.
— GODWIN FRANCO (@GodwinFranco7) July 27, 2018

Godwin made it clear he has no intention to play professional football in India and believes that such corruption is the main reason why the quality in Indian football has been so poor.

Genuine football players have been robbed of their opportunity. The ones who cannot control & pass a ball properly have been put on the pitch to play which makes quality of the game that should be watched poor to watch.
— GODWIN FRANCO (@GodwinFranco7) July 27, 2018

No one can escape from the justice of the one and only true GOD JESUS. Before exercising His Justice He offers His Infinite Love and Infinite Mercy (Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation) to repent and get united with Him, which is only through His Catholic Church. Please share
— GODWIN FRANCO (@GodwinFranco7) July 27, 2018

What's next?

It remains to be seen whether any top officials from FPAI will respond to these allegations and clarify the issue. So far, we have not seen any response from anyone in the top brass of Indian football. Godwin’s tweets might have raised some storm initially but he has made a very broad accusation without any names or even an iota of evidence. For the record, FPAI has almost nothing to do with clubs hiring players. We can expect some official response from FPAI in the coming days regarding this matter.