Kushal Das confident of Abhishek Yadav's abilities as first AIFF Deputy General Secretary
Former Indian national team player Abhishek Yadav has been appointed as the first Deputy General Secretary of AIFF.
He joins the elite list of Sourav Ganguly (BCCI President), Adille Sumariwalla (AFI President), and Anju Bobby George (AFI Sr. Vice President) as former players to take administrative roles.
Being a former player himself, Yadav will bring with him a new dimension to the role and an understanding of the players' voices. His appointment is a welcome change.
Abhishek Yadav was responsible for scouting India's players for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup as well as the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship.
After serving as the Director of National Teams for the last four years, AIFF have given him a promotion.
"Abhishek (Yadav) has been working as the Director National Teams and has made a lot of value addition in our effort to take Indian football forward together. He is a former India International player who has molded himself into a very capable administrator. He has hence been given a promotion and, I am confident that he will contribute in his own capacity to take Indian football administration to higher echelons. I wish him all the best in his new position," AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das told Sportskeeda.
As a Deputy General Secretary, YAdav will assist Kushal Das in his day-to-day activities.
The 40-year-old made 36 appearances for India's senior national team and scored four goals.
Born in Kanpur, Abhishek began his professional career playing for Rashtriya Chemicals Fertilizers.
He then played for Mahindra United, Churchill Brothers, and Mumbai FC in the NFL and I-League. He also made four appearances for Mumbai City FC in the inaugural season of ISL and scored a goal before hanging his boots.
Abhishek made his debut for the senior national team in 2002 and played regularly until 2011.
He scored for India against Vietnam to help them win the 2002 LG Cup.
Abhishek was also a part of India's 23-member 2011 AFC Asian Cup squad and played all three group stage matches.