Chief minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to Sunil Chhetri on Thursday afternoon and requested him to play an active role in improving Indian football through Bengal.

State sports minster Aroop Biswas revealed this during the felicitation function at a near-empty Salt Lake Stadium after Chhetri’s last match in the India shirt.

“She said we are the first to offer you a role,” Biswas said.

Biswas, on behalf of the Bengal government, presented Chhetri with a gold chain consisting of 19 guineas to honour the super striker’s 19 years in international football.

The All India Football Federation, the IFA, the Big Three of Calcutta football — Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting — and the Army also felicitated the star player.

While the felicitation was on, India’s head coach Igor Stimac said he felt bad for Chhetri.

“Really sad for Sunil as he didn’t go with a win. At the same time we don’t have any opportunity to get emotional as we have only five days to turn things around against Qatar. It is a small hope but it’s still there.

“We have to give our best shot and try and win the match. We need to believe in our team and our abilities. We have a young squad and I expect a lot from this team.”

India play Qatar in Doha in their last Group A match on Tuesday.

The Croat said he was not happy with the way his team played.

“Disappointed. We couldn’t break down the Kuwait team. We were creating good pressure but lacked conviction. The weather conditions also didn’t help as they knew where to stop the game. They wasted 17-18 minutes,” the India coach rued.