Aaditya Thackeray elected president of MDFA
The Yuva Sena Chief was elected from 37 candidates and won by a margin of nine votes against Sudhadhar Rane.
Aaditya Thackeray was elected as the president of Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA) on Saturday as he received 147 votes in the committee of 37 candidates. The Yuva Sena chief, who has held the position of chairperson at MDFA for the last four years won with a close margin of nine votes with Sudhakar Rane getting 138 votes.
The MDFA is managed by the executive council consisting of a president, chairman, four vice-residents, hon. general secretary, hon. treasurer, four assistant secretaries and 15 committee members. Out of the 37 members that contested in the election, the top 27 will be a part of this council. This panel will be selected by Wednesday.
Rane, who was the former assistant secretary, applauds Thackeray for his work in the last four years as the chairperson. “He has been a great addition to MDFA and his work has been commendable. We should give him credit for bringing international games to Mumbai,” he says.
The current secretary of Western India Football Association, Souter Vaz calls Thackeray a fine youthful leader with power. He says, “Mr. Thackeray has changed the dynamics in the past few years. He knows how things are in the city and will definitely create a greater impact as the president.”
In the last election in 2013, there were two panels, and the total number of participants was around 63-64. But this year, according to sources, most people have withdrawn their nominations, and there is one strong panel comprising at least 25 members in favour of Thackeray being the administrative head. There was no rival panel and the rest of the participants were independent candidates.
Rane, who has worked closely with Thackeray in the previous terms, explains the development plans. “Our initial plans will be installing a turf at the Neville D’Souza Football Ground in Bandra and creating a better pitch at the St Xaviers Parel Ground. We are not just looking to develop the grounds but also other infrastructure like toilets and dugouts for the playersfor a better experience. Apart from this, we will also start with our plans for conducting the junior league for different age groups, which will come into effect soon.”
The city saw its first international football friendly after 61 years on September 4 last year where India faced Puerto Rico. Mumbai also hosted India vs. Nepal last month at Andheri Sports Complex. The committee commended Thackeray for such achievements.