AIFF President constitutes five-member committee to hold discussions with India head coach Igor Stimac

The Technical Committee, headed by I.M.Vijayan, expressed their disappointment over India’s performance and recommended that discussions need to be held with the head coach before the next two qualifiers.

Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac speaking to the players during a practice session ahead of the World Cup qualifying match against Afghanistan in Guwahati. | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR/ The Hindu

AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey held a virtual meeting with senior Federation members to discuss the recommendations made by the Technical Committee after India’s recent performance in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualifiers Round 2 matches against Afghanistan, an AIFF release said on Friday.

The release also said that the AIFF President and its members took note of certain comments made by India head coach Igor Stimac in the press about his future with the team after the completion of the Round 2 qualifiers.

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The AIFF President, after listening to all the members’ recommendations and suggestions, has constituted a five-member committee, comprising N.A. Haris, Vice President, AIFF, Menla Ethenpa, Member, Executive Committee and Chairperson, Finance Committee, Anilkumar Prabhakaran, Member, Executive Committee and Chairperson, Competitions Committee, I.M. Vijayan, Member, Executive Committee and Chairperson, Technical Committee, and Climax Lawrence, Member, Executive Committee and Technical Committee.

The newly-formed committee has been requested by the AIFF President to hold discussions with the India head coach and seek further clarification on the matter, the release added.

Earlier, on Thursday, the Technical Committee, headed by Vijayan expressed their disappointment over India’s performance and recommended that discussions need to be held with the head coach before the next two World Cup qualifiers against Kuwait (June 6) and Qatar (June 11).

India played two World Cup qualifiers against Afghanistan in the March FIFA International Window. The first match in Abha, Saudi Arabia ended in a stalemate, while the second in Guwahati, saw India suffer a 1-2 defeat at the hands of the team ranked 158th in the world.