The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Friday that it will respond to allegations made by former head coach Igor Stimac within the next 48 hours. This follows Stimac’s explosive press conference, where he criticized the administration and AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, just days after his dismissal from the role.
AIFF’s reply to Igor Stimac’s claim
Stimac directly targeted AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, suggesting that Indian football would only progress if Chaubey left his position. He claimed that India is unique in its failure to grow football as a sport. “It has come to our attention that former India men’s team head coach Mr. Igor Stimac has made certain remarks in the media pertaining to the functioning of the All India Football Federation and some of its senior officials. The AIFF will issue a statement in this regard in the next 48 hours,” the AIFF stated.
The Croatian coach, who promised to reveal his perspective on the state of Indian football, addressed his “media friends” on Thursday. During his press conference on Friday, Stimac, who was part of Croatia’s 1998 World Cup squad that finished third, lashed out at the AIFF. He described Indian football as being “imprisoned” and expressed frustration over “lies and unfulfilled promises” during his tenure.
Igor Stimac blasts ‘selfish’ AIFF
Stimac, appointed in 2019, was dismissed after India failed to advance to the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers. The team was held to a 0-0 draw in Kolkata earlier in the month and subsequently lost 2-1 to Qatar in Doha. “In my career, I’ve not been sacked till now, this was the first time. And it was wrongly so – in my reply to AIFF I’ve done the same,” Stimac said.
“It was impossible for me to continue without enough support, I was fed up of the lies, the unfulfilled promises and being surrounded by people who are only thinking about their own interests,” he added.
Stimac also revealed that he received a warning before the AFC Asian Cup earlier this year after trying to educate the administrators about the importance of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He emphasized the stress he faced during this period, which led to urgent heart surgery.
“After I told them that the World Cup Qualifiers were more important than the Asian Cup, I received a final warning from AIFF. When I received the final warning on December 2, no one knows this, I finished in the hospital.
“I was disturbed with everything going on; stressed from the obvious problems. I had immediate surgery on my heart. Wasn’t ready to speak to anyone or find excuses. I was ready to put myself on the line to prepare my team for the Asian Cup to give them the best shot,” Stimac explained.
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