Ex-AIFF president Dasmunsi remembered by Mohun Bagan

Former footballers and administrators on Tuesday recalled the contribution of late All India Football Federation president Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi and called for starting a tournament and naming prizes after him.

At a condolence meeting for Dasmunsi organised by the Mohun Bagan club here, soccer star of yesteryears Chuni Goswami recalled the exposure the country's footballers got during Dasmunshi's two-decade stint at the head of the AIFF.

"During Priya da's time, we could play a lot of international tournaments. He showed us the difference between our players and international players," said Goswami, who captained India to the Asian Games gold in 1962.

A number of other football stars like Subrata Bhattacharya, Prasanta Banerjee, Biswajit Bhattacharya, Compton Dutta, Prasun Banerjee and Gautam Sarkar were present at the Mohun Bagan club lawns on the occasion.

Dasmunsi's membership card with the club was handed over to his son, Priyadip, nicknamed Michil.

"I would like to see a tournament named after Priya da. It would be better if the goal scorer of that particular tournament also gets a prize named after him," Subrata Bhattacharya told reporters.

"Had Priya da been alive, he would have not allowed a situation where East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are not part of the Indian Super League (ISL)," Prasun Banerjee added.

Dasmunsi was first elected as the AIFF President in December 1988 when he succeeded Khalifa Ziauddin to the post.

It was under Dasmunsi's leadership that Vision India Projects were launched along with the National Football League, and later the I-League along with the AIFF Elite Academy in Goa.

It was also during his tenure that India won the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 in Delhi to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup Doha 2011 for the first time since 1984; and also the 2007 Nehru Cup.

He was a member of the FIFA Court of Arbitration actively involved as a FIFA Technical Study Group Member in the 1995 Women's Women Cup (Sweden) and a Match Commissioner in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup (US).

The former AIFF President was the first Indian to become the special Duty officer at the 1998 France World Cup and the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.

He was also the Chef de Mission of the India Olympics Contingent in 2004 in Athens and Match Commissioner for two Matches in the 2006 FIFA World Cup at Germany.

In addition, he was the venue-in-charge for FIFA World Cups for three consecutive editions -- France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006.

--IANS

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