Credit: X
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) committee led by IM Vijayan reportedly sent a notice to Indian football coach Igor Stimac after India’s shocking defeat. India registered a 1-2 defeat against Afghanistan in the 2026 World Cup qualifying match in Guwahati on Thursday. Things have grown tense between the sports ministry and Sports Authority of India (SAI) over Stimac’s coaching methods. As per the reports, SAT called AIFF chief Kalyan Chaubey and other officials for an open discussion about the plan of action.
As per the Times of India, the Croatian’s work visa can be cancelled by the administration running the sports in the country. While the SAI and AIFF earlier partly funded Stimac’s paycheck, currently he draws his paycheck from the Indian Football Federation.
According to a senior sports official, “It's about the money we spend on the Indian football team as part of the ACTC program close to Rs 50 crore annually. If the government is spending so much on a national team and the performances aren't coming, then obviously the blame has to be shared equally by the coach(es) and the federation.”
The official added, “Even if AIFF is paying his entire salary, that doesn't mean the coach can't be held liable for some of the football team's disastrous outings. We can simply stop funding the team for exposure trips and international assignments. AIFF has to submit a detailed future plan on how it plans to improve things.”
Telegraph India reported that the committee doesn't want Stimac to continue as the head coach. The AIFF will have another meeting on Friday to have a further discussion on the committee’s suggestions. An official said that the AIFF is going through Stimac’s contract paper to determine if his sacking can be done willingly.