The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is bracing itself for a legal battle after sacking Igor Stimac, ending his five-year reign as head coach of the senior men’s national team. Stimac, a World Cup bronze medal winner in 1998 and formerly coach of the Croatian national team, joined India in 2019. He was in charge for 53 matches, winning 19, drawing 14 and losing 20.
The Croatian had come under heavy pressure since India’s failure to score a goal, or pick up a point, during the three group-stage games at the Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar early this year. The team ended with the worst performance among the 24 participating teams.
When India failed to qualify for the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, despite winning the first game against Kuwait, the writing was on the wall. The only hindrance was his contract that ran till June 2026, without any clause for termination with a standard three-month compensation. “Stimac had publicly said that he would resign if he does not take India to the third round (of the World Cup qualifiers). India exited on June 11 and since then we have not heard anything from him. This decision has been taken in national interest. Compensation is secondary,” a senior AIFF official said.
