Praful Manoharbhai Patel (born 17 February 1957) is an Indian Nationalist Congress Party politician, industrialist and sports administrator. He was the president of India's association football governing body the All India Football Federation (AIFF) from 2009 till 2022 when the Committee of Administrators (CoA) took over the interim administration following the appointment by the Supreme Court. He became the Asian Football Confederation's vice president of the SAFF region at the AFC Congress held in Bahrain in 2015. In December 2016 he was appointed as the Senior Vice President of the Asian Football Confederation. In 2017, He became a member of a FIFA Finance Committee for a term of four years. Early life and education Patel is the son of Indian National Congress politician Manoharbhai Patel, who represented Gondia in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. His father died when Patel was 13. His family runs the CEEJAY group tobacco conglomerate. He attended Mumbai's Campion School, and the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Bombay. Career Political career Patel followed in his father's footsteps in choosing a political career. In 1985, he became the president of the Gondia Municipal Council, and in the 1991 Indian general election was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha. In 1996 and 1998 he was re-elected to the 11th Lok Sabha and 12th Lok Sabha respectively. Patel has served on a number of parliamentary committees, including the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (1991–1996), the Committee on Science and Technology (1994–1995), the Committee on Home Affairs (1995–1996), the Committee on Finance (1996–97), and the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a representative of Maharashtra in 2000. He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha for his second term in 2006, and in the 2009 was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha for a fourth term. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2016. From 2004 to 2011, Patel was served as the Minister of Civil Aviation. In this role, the government increased the foreign direct investment cap in the domestic airlines sector from 40% to 49%. On 19 January 2011, Patel was relieved of Civil Aviation portfolio and became the cabinet minister for Minister of the Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. On 9 January 2013, Patel launched the National Electric Mobility