Bhutia slams AIFF over India v Brazil friendly, calls match "a circus"
Bhaichung Bhutia called the India v Brazil friendly on Saturday, October 3, "a circus" and criticised the All India Football Federation for prioritising the high-profile match over other federation responsibilities.
Bhutia, described in the source as an Indian football great and a member of the AIFF executive committee, made the comments ahead of the game in an interview with The Indian Express; the Brazil friendly formed part of a three-match series that also featured Panama and Uruguay, who played at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Acknowledging spectator excitement, Bhutia said, "From a player’s or fan’s point of view, yes, everybody would love it. As a player, I would’ve loved to play Brazil," and questioned the federation’s priorities: "But is the federation’s job to give the players an opportunity to play against Brazil or is it their job to develop football for the longer run?"
Bhutia challenged the logic of the financial outlay for the fixture, stating, "For a federation to pay Brazil to play this match – it’s being said that the amount is Rs 50-60 crore – is completely illogical," and cited budgeting pressures within the AIFF: "I am in the ExCo, there was a deficit of Rs 14 to 16 crore in the last budget. You are running pillar to post for getting sponsors. Clubs are shutting down because there are no sponsors. There are clubs in the I-League (Indian Football League) and ISL (Indian Super League) that are struggling to find sponsors."
Bhutia said India had originally been scheduled to play in the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, drawn with Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, teams he described as closer to India's FIFA ranking of 138, while Brazil were ranked sixth as of Friday; he criticised the AIFF decision to withdraw from the ASEAN Cup after initially planning separate squads and said, "We shouldn’t have missed out on a competitive tournament like the ASEAN Cup. The players would have benefitted playing competitive matches in that tournament, a minimum of three games. And then you chose to play this friendly by paying so much money, it makes no sense as a federation."
On alternatives for benefiting Indian football, Bhutia pointed to Japan's past approach with Brazilian influence: "What did Japan do with Brazilian football? They collaborated. There were people like Zico who coached the Japanese national team for a long time. They had a lot of expertise from Brazilian football in Japan." He also levelled a direct criticism at the federation's leadership: "When you have a clueless president, the entire thing becomes a circus and that is what is happening in Indian football. Look at our FIFA ranking, we went from being inside the top 100 to close to 140. Even in the Asian Cup, India didn’t qualify on merit," said Bhutia.
India were beaten 0-4 by Brazil in the international friendly on Saturday, providing the result Bhutia referenced in his criticism.
