All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel is likely to become the first Indian to be elected as a member in the FIFA Executive Council for a four-year term. Patel is among the eight contenders vying for a spot in the FIFA Executive Council from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The election will be for the term 2019 to 2023 and will be held during the 29th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and only five of them will be elected. Apart from Patel, the seven other candidates are from China, Iran, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Patel is currently going through his third term as the AIFF President and his tenure would run till December 2020. Hosting the 2017 under-17 World Cup is considered one of his biggest achievements as the head of Indian football.

AIFF:

• The All India Football Federation, also simply known as the AIFF, is the governing body of association football in India. Formed in 1937, the federation was one of founding members of the Asian Football Confederation, the overseer of football in Asia.
• The AIFF sanctions and runs all competitive football tournaments and leagues at a national level, namely the Indian Super League, I-League and Super Cup. The federation also indirectly manages local football competitions through the state associations. The federation is also responsible for managing the India national football team, as well as the women’s team and the various youth national sides.
• The AIFF is also part of the South Asian Football Federation, the organization that runs football in South Asia. The federation is currently based in Dwarka, Delhi.