AIFF to Address Igor Stimac's Criticism of Indian Football Within 48 Hours

In response to Stimac's comments, the AIFF has issued an official statement.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) will address former coach Igor Stimac's criticisms of its operations within 48 hours.

After being dismissed as the head coach of the Indian men’s football team, the Croatian held a press conference on Friday, 21 June, where he detailed numerous accusations against the country's football governing body.

In response to Stimac's comments, the AIFF issued an official statement, saying:

It has come to our attention that former India men’s team head coach Mr. Igor Stimac has made certain remarks in the media pertaining to functioning of the All India Football Federation and some of its senior officials. The AIFF will issue a statement in this regards in the next 48 hours.

AIFF

During the press conference, Stimac launched a scathing attack on AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey. He claimed that Chaubey, who defeated former captain Bhaichung Bhutia 33-1 to become president a couple of years ago, was appointed in the organisation through political influence.

Kalyan Chaubey was politically instated in the AIFF. He has been lying to me all along. Besides that he is the AIFF president, no one knows him. If he did not walk around with armed bodyguards, people would not care about Kalyan. I once had a meeting with him for three minutes, and he looked at his watch five times within those three minutes. All he cares about is how many likes he is getting on social media, and how many images he is clicking with famous people in football.

Igor Stimac

Stimac, who was appointed as the Indian head coach on 15 May 2019, led India to four trophies during his tenure – the SAFF Championship in 2021 and 2023, the Tri-Nation Series in 2023 and the Intercontinental Cup in the same year.

His ousting comes after India’s rather disappointing campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers, where the Blue Tigers could not make it to the third round, following a draw against Kuwait and a defeat to Qatar in their last couple of outings.