All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey on Friday constituted a 5-member panel which will hold discussions with national coach Igor Stimac and seek clarification on his recent comments where he said he would quit his position if India failed to reach the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.
“Never mind the contract, If I don’t take India to the third round, I will leave,” Stimac had said at the pre-match press conference in Guwahati on Monday. “With my pride, with my honour, with everything that I have done in the last five years. But if we qualify, there’s plenty of work that has to be done.”
The 5-member committee comprises of N.A. Haris, Vice President, AIFF, Mr. 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 Mr. Climax Lawrence, Member, Executive Committee and Technical Committee.
Chaubey also held a virtual meeting with senior federation members to discuss the recommendations made by the Technical Committee after India’s below par performances.
India had a disastrous performance in the recently concluded World cup Qualifiers against Afghanistan where the first match which was held in Saudi Arabia ended as a draw while the second one, which was held in Guwahati, saw India suffer a 1-2 defeat at the hands of the team ranked 158th in the world.
Minutes after the loss, hundreds of fans surrounded the team bus as the players and coach exited the stadium, chanting ‘Stimac out!’ amidst a din of boos. The man who pulls no punches is now Indian football’s favourite punching bag.
India can still finish second in their group and make the cut, for the first time, for the third round of World Cup qualifiers. Though historic, it might not necessarily be a good thing. It will only paper over the cracks and give the administrators at Football House a false sense of achievement despite deep structural problems.
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