AIFF sacks the Indian Men’s Team Head Coach Igor Stimac

All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) sacked Croatian tactician Igor Stimac as the head coach of the Indian Football Team following a disappointing AFC Asian Cup 2023 and FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers campaign on Monday 17th June. Stimac had taken charge of the Blue Tigers on May 15, 2019, after the departure of Stephen Constantine. The Croatian has always addressed the importance of football’s development in the country but the fans lost their patience with Stimac as the team was losing matches and delivering disappointing results continuously.

Read Also: Igor Stimac's stats as Indian National Football Team Head Coach

AIFF sack Indian Football Team head coach Igor Stimac 👀#IndianFootball #IgorStimac #AIFF #FootballIndia #Sack #sunilchettri pic.twitter.com/eS1dh1dKXo

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) June 17, 2024

“Noting the disappointing outcome of the Senior Men’s National Team’s FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification campaign, the members unanimously agreed that a new Head Coach would be best placed to take the team forward. A notice of termination has been issued to Mr. Stimac by the AIFF Secretariat, and he stands relieved of his obligations with immediate effect,” said AIFF in an official statement.

India's titles under Igor Stimac

• SAFF Championship: 2021, 2023
• Tri-Nation Series: 2023
• InterContinental Cup: 2023

Under Stimac's tenure, India won four major honours, including two SAFF Championships, one Intercontinental Cup, and a Tri-Nations Series. He became the first India coach to win three trophies in a year, winning the SAFF Championship, Tri-Nations Series, and the Intercontinental Cup last year. However, India's poor outing in the AFC Asian Cup this year almost decided his sacking and then performing badly against Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Qatar ultimately opened the exit gate for him from the Indian Men's National Football Team.