Giving opportunities to young players is the only way to speed up in Asia, claims Igor Stimac

Igor Stimac has been stressing on the importance of reducing the number of foreigners in the domestic leagues ever since he set foot on Indian soil. After much speculation, the AIFF advised the ISL and I-League to truncate the foreign quota and also the number of players on the pitch at a time and implement a 3+1 rule, which includes a mandatory player from an AFC nation. The Croat has welcomed the decision and feels that giving youngsters more opportunities is the only way to speeding up development and competing with top Asian countries.

“I am happy [with the move]. It is going to bring benefits to Indian football very soon. From the very first day we started relying on young talented players believing that our hard work and trust in them will pay us back in the near future,” said Igor Stimac, to PTI.

“I like when I see young players getting chances in ISL and I-league. That’s our only way of speeding up and competing with other successful Asian football countries. Developing young players is mostly based and dependent on structured and professional work in football academies,” added the manager.

The Indian football team’s display in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers has been below par, having failed to win a single match in the campaign so far. Even though they are out of contention in the qualifiers, the Blue Tigers have a good chance of qualifying for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup if they manage to win a couple of games in the remaining fixtures.