'Stranded at Tashkent'- Gokulam Kerala FC seek political support for players stuck in the Uzbek capital
GKFC call upon the PM to help their women's team stranded in Tashkent | Photo - Twitter |
Gokulam Kerala FC recently took to social media to request political support and intervention after their women's team found itself stranded in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent after the South-Indian outfit was denied the opportunity to compete in theAFC Women's Club Championship.
The team was shunned from the championship shortly after FIFA levelled a ban on AIFF in the early hours of August 16th. FIFA's ban effectively means that Indian clubs will be barred from competing in any continental tournaments.
As a result of this ban, the GKFC women's team's journey to Tashkent wasrendered futile.The team members consequently voiced their concernson Twitter to call upon the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi andthe Union minister of sports andyouth affairs Anurag Thakur to help them through this conundrum.
"23 women team players of Gokulam Kerala FC are stranded at Tashkent now for no fault of ours. We request urgent intervention by @PMOIndia (Prime Minister's Office India), @anuragthakur (Anurag Thakur), @narendramodi (Narendra Modi)for us to participate in the AFC."
In the post on Twitter, GKFC shared a lengthy statement, explaining the issue. They also offered insight into how they received the honour of representing the country in the AFC Women's club championship by earning the mantle of club champions of India.
In addition, the club also highlighted their efforts in furthering the Prime Minister's vision of making India a superpower bybolstering the cause of women's football in India and the world.
"Our Prime Minister’s dream is to make India a Super Power and become number 1 in the world. In a small way, our club is spearheading the efforts to bring women’s football in India by being the champion club of Indiasince 2019. Such an unforeseen ban should not be detrimental to our efforts in making INDIA proud to become the number one women’s football nation in Asia."
They called upon the officers of the Prime Minister's office to intervene and help them repeal the ban that has been levelled on the Indian footballing community. Whether the GKFC women's team will get to represent the country on the international stage is something that remains to be seen.