Padma Shri and Arjuna Awards may come to Bengal this time: New AIFF chief Kalyan Chaubey

Though he refrained from naming the former players whose names his organisation intends to propose to the government, Chaubey said, "Since we can only recommend, it would be unfair to take the names.

"But if all criteria match, West Bengal may get both Padma Shri and Arjuna."

Padma Shri Award is the fourth highest civilian honour of the Republic of India after Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.

Arjuna Award is India's second highest sporting honour which is given for outstanding performance in sports and games.

Choubey made the comment at a press conference in Kolkata days after he became the All India Football Federation (AIFF) president, outsmarting former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia by a landslide margin of 33-1.

Speaking about the areas he would like to focus on as the AIFF chief, 45-year-old Choubey, a former goalkeeper, said, "We want to revive a number of football tournaments."

"If we can host the Santosh Trophy well, the competition will become a platform for our own footballers to emerge," he added.

Choubey took charge of the AIFF days after the destitute Indian football was banned by the body which governs the sport globally, FIFA.

(Images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)