India head coach Igor Stimac gets contract extension till AFC Asian Cup 2023
Igor Stimac, the head coach of the Indian men's football team, extended his contract on Tuesday till the AFC Asian Cup in 2023, as per the latest reports. The AIFF technical committee made the recommendation to renew his contract, and the executive committee later approved it during a meeting.
The technical committee's proposal that the coach's contract is automatically renewed should India advance to the Asian Cup quarterfinals was also agreed upon by the executive committee. "I am extremely happy that the AIFF has placed the trust in the process that we have put in," said Stimac.
"We have had a very good run in the qualifiers, and we want to make sure that we keep building ourselves up till the Asian Cup and give a good account of ourselves in the continental stage."
The 55-year-old Croatian coach has been in charge of the Blue Tigers since 2019, and earlier this year, when India won Group D of the Third Round qualifiers, he successfully led the side through to its second consecutive AFC Asian Cup qualifying.
"Now that we have ensured qualification, we must make sure that we keep improving and finding our best combination till the Asian Cup," he said.
"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."
AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said: "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."
The secretary-general announced that the federation will work closely with the senior national team's head coach, assistant coaches, players, and clubs to ensure a favourable environment is established for Indian football.
"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," Prabhakaran said.
