Igor Stimac to not travel for Asian Games 2023, India’s second-string team to go

Head coach Igor Stimac is unlikely to go with the Indian football squad to the Asian Games 2023, the next week. India may be obliged to field a depleted team due to a clash with the Indian Super League (ISL), the nation’s top division competition.

In exactly one week, on September 19, India and the hosts China square off in the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023. On September 21, the ISL’s new campaign gets underway.

Uncertainty surrounds the Asian Games 2023 squad as the dispute over player availability between the ISL clubs and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) heats up as per the Indian Express.

Each nation is required to field a group of under-23 athletes as well as three senior athletes.

In the initial squad, along with elders like the nation’s top goal scorer Sunil Chhetri, defender Sandesh Jhinghan, and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, were some of India’s best national team players. However, it’s unlikely that any of these guys will go to Hangzhou right now.

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Igor Stimac unlikely to go to Asian Games 2023

Stimac, who is adamant that the roster must include the best players, is now also unlikely to travel with the team to the Asian Games 2023.

This development happened on the same day when reports suggested that Igor Stimac chose the team for the Asian Cup qualifiers last year on the advice of an astrologer.

Stimac was allegedly brought to the astrologer by Kushal Das, the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) then-secretary-general, who was paid “around Rs 12–15 lakh” for his “professional services.”

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“Target or honest fighter for the betterment of Indian football? The time is coming to put all the cards on the table and see how much and who really cares about football in this country. Give it a thought before making up your judgment and thanks once again for your support.” He said “my dream of making India a football nation is still alive,” Igor posted on X on Tuesday.

The ISL clubs have been difficult to release players for the national team, and the Croat has been at the center of a conflict with them. He just received a show-cause notice from the AIFF due to his disparaging statements.

AIFF vs ISL

Some of India’s best players, who were taking part in a scheduled competition in Thailand, were caught in a struggle between the clubs and the federation as they were unable to fly back to India.

The clubs with which the players are under contract with refused to give the AIFF permission to fly the players directly to China, leaving at least nine players stranded in the Southeast Asian nation. AIFF finally decided to purchase their flights back to India late Monday night after considerable haggling.

The clubs do not need to release their players because the Asian Games 2023 will not take place during the time period that FIFA has set aside for international games.