Bhaichung Bhutia First Indian to be Inducted Into Asian Football Confederation Hall of Fame

Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia has been inducted to the Asian Football Confederation Hall of Fame.

According to an official media release by the All India Football Federation, a letter from Dato Alex Soosay, the General Secretary of the AFC to the AIFF confirmed Bhaichung's induction.

"The AFC is celebrating its 60th Anniversary in Philippines on November 30 this year where a joint event will take place to celebrate the Anniversary as well as reward Asia's finest at the AFC Annual Awards," the letter read.

Other than Bhaichung, nine other legendary players from Asia will also be honoured. This is the inaugural edition of these awards and Bhaichung is the first Indian to be on the list of recipients.

The president of the AIFF, Praful Patel, praised Bhaichung for his contribution to Indian football and felt this honour was well deserved.

"Bhaichung has been the flag bearer of Indian Football in over 100 International matches. My heartiest congratulations to him! Post retirement, he has been closely associated with AIFF and we expect to work closely for the development of the sport in the country," he said.

Bhaichung thanked AFC for bestowing such an honour upon him.

"It's a great honour for me. I need to thank AFC for finding me competent enough. I also need to thank All India Football Federation for their continous support," he said.

"Obviously it won't have ever been possible without the support of all my teammates whom I have played along with and also the coaches for their guidance and Clubs I have represented. A special thanks for all my fans for standing beside me. This Award more for you than mine," he added.

Bhaichung Bhutia played 107 games for India between 1995 to 2011, scoring 42 goals. He has also represented prominent I-League clubs like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.