Panaji: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has proposed a change in name to Football Federation of Bharat (FFB) and made it mandatory to play the national anthem and the national song, Vande Mataram, before all official matches played in the country.The changes were proposed during the special general body meeting on Saturday.According to one state association official who attended the virtual meeting, there were no objections from any of the members present, either to the change in name for the first time in 90 years or national anthem being played before kick off, starting from the under-12 level.“Traditionally, India is known as Bharat, so we thought Indian football should reflect that even on the international stage,” AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey told TOI on Saturday. “There was ‘Bharat in Paris’ during the last Olympics (in 2024). Bharat is normal usage at international summits and seminars. Even at the World Cup, countries are using their new names: Turkey is Turkiye, Czech Republic is Czechia. Our football federation can also be part of this change.”The proposal to have the national anthem and the national song played before kick off at all matches conducted by AIFF received unanimous approval. National anthems are typically played only before start of international fixtures. In India, the Indian Super League (ISL), the country’s top tier league, started the practice but later discontinued it since it did not align with global practices.Chaubey, a former India goalkeeper, said the idea was to spark nationalism among players at a young age.“Children take to football as a passion and only a handful turn professional players. During this transition, singing the national anthem and Vande Mataram, our national song, will generate more nationalism. So, when they wear the national team jersey (before international matches), the mindset will be different,” said Chaubey.The name change from AIFF to FFB will need approval from the sports ministry, before the federation writes to FIFA, the governing body of world football, whose representative — Emilie Doms, manager, Member Association Governance Service – was in attendance, along with three officials from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).The AIFF was formed in 1937, when representatives of football associations of six regions met at the Army Headquarters, Shimla. The six regions which attended the historic meeting were Indian Football Association (IFA), Army Sports Control Board (ASCB), United Provinces, Bihar, North West India Football Association and Delhi.
