Igor Stimac extends India head coach contract till AFC Asian Cup 2023

Igor Stimac has signed a contract extension with the Indian football team as the head coach. He will be in charge until the AFC Asian Cup 2023. He had signed for the side in 2019 and even won the SAFF Championship in 2021.

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Indian men's football team head coach Igor Stimac has signed an extension to his contract until next year's AFC Asian Cup ends. The All India Football Federation's (AIFF) technical committee instructed the contract extension decision last month. It was later sanctioned by the executive committee in their separate gatherings in Kolkata last month. The executive committee also abodes the technical committee's proposals that the coach's contract should be automatically renewed if India reaches the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup.

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"I am thrilled that the AIFF has placed the trust in the process that we have put in. We have had an excellent run in the qualifiers, and we want to ensure that we keep building ourselves up until the Asian Cup and give a good account of ourselves in the continental stage," sounded Stimac.

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The 55-year-old Croatian has been in charge of the Blue Tigers since 2019 and successfully piloted the side to its second straight AFC Asian Cup qualification earlier this year when India transcended Group D in the Round 3 qualifiers.

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"Now that we have ensured qualification, we must make sure that we keep improving and finding our best combination till the Asian Cup. Again, it is not an easy process, and there will be plenty of pain on the way, but if we can stick to the proper procedure and not take shortcuts, we can achieve our target of making it to the knockout rounds," added Stimac.

AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran conveyed: "The new team in AIFF would like to see a forward momentum for the national team, and we are determined to rebuild it with a fresh approach by developing a new plan exclusively for the senior national team."

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The secretary-general also informed that the federation would work closely with the head coach, the support staff, the players, and the clubs to ensure a favourable scenario is devised for Indian football through the senior national side. "Our best wishes to Igor Stimac, and we are confident he will guide the Indian national team to a new level with his huge experience and hard work," concluded Prabhakaran.

(With inputs from PTI)