AIFF to announce technical director this week

The technical committee of the AIFF interviewed candidates for the technical director post of the Indian football team and has given the Federation the names in order of preference.

The Technical Director for the Indian football team has been chosen and will be announced in the next couple of days, Chairman of the All India Football Federation's Technical Committee, Shyam Thapa, told Sportstar on Monday.

The Technical Committee met in New Delhi to interview the three candidates and zero down on a name. The shortlisted candidates names for the post are — Gaioz Darsadze from Georgia, Romania's Doru Isac, and Portugal's Jorge Castelo.

Isac was to attend the interview in person and had flown to New Delhi, but could not obtain a visa on arrival and instead gave the interview over Skype from the airport. Darsadze and Castelo were also interviewed via Skype.

"We have interviewed all three coaches and discussed their plans and vision for Indian football. The technical committee has made its decision and has given the AIFF the names in order of preference," Thapa said.

The AIFF's executive committee, which includes president Praful Patel, vice-president Subrata Dutta and general secretary Kushal Das, will mull over the salary requirements of the candidates and announce the name shortly.

Savio Medeira has been the acting technical director since Australian Scott O’Donnell resigned in 2017. O’Donnell had once again applied for the post but was ruled out. "Scott has been in India for six years and we're looking for someone with a fresh vision now," a member of the committee had earlier said.