Armchair sportsman

While NCP President Sharad Pawar is the patron-saint of BCCI, party leader and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel is, if you please, the president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). What’s interesting is that the AIFF website describes Patel as an “ardent sportsman”, and just when you think it will describe his love for the game, or perhaps the level at which he played, it goes on to say… “is an ardent sportsman, being the President of the All India Football Federation, President of Western India Football Association and Vice President of Maharashtra Olympic Association”. As to how his presidency has helped AIFF, the website says that, apart from helping in the “preparation of the Indian team for the AFC Asian Cup 2011”, Patel “is instrumental in getting support from BCCI for Infrastructure Development”.