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What's the story?
The governing body of football in India, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) appear to be pushed into a corner of sorts and forced to increase the dearness allowance (DA) of their International stars, following an approach by some of the players to the premier football body of the country.
The players approached the federation in order to increase their allowance and the AIFF have since passed a resolution to that effect in an executive meeting, a player in the national team said to Sportskeeda.
While details remain sketchy at best, it is said that players are generally paid around Rs. 600 a day and that amount is said to increase to about Rs. 1000 a day. Although this is merely a symbolic increase in the number, this still goes a long way with regards to the improvement in payment for the footballers, the player said.
In case you didn't know...
Following the advent of the Indian Super League (ISL), money has streamed into Indian football, making it a lucrative option for upcoming players. The subsequent jump in rankings of the Indian national team to 96 recently, also raised speculation of a hike in pay for players who have given their all without money being the major motivation to pursue the sport.
The heart of the matter
Players such as Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Jeje Lalpekhlua and others have become household names thanks to their superior performances for their country as well as for their ISL franchises, making them millionaires in a sport that has historically not offered much to the Indian football upstart. Thankfully, that appears to be changing now following this resolution.
What's next?
The Indian national contingent, led by coach Stephen Constantine is all set to head to Goa for a qualification match for the Asian Cup on November 14th, a tournament which India have already qualified for.
Author's take
It may be too little too late, but finally the AIFF seems to be taking care of their players who were forced to speak up in order to gain recognition for their efforts in a country where cricket still rules the roost when it comes to monetary benefits in sport.
