The Indian Football Team will see a new coach take charge of the Indian team for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers in September, while national senior side head coach Igor Stimac will be at the helm during the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzou, China, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said. Football is an U-23 event at the Asian Games 2022, and therefore Stimac will shift his focus to the senior team’s preparation in the lead-up to the Asian Cup next year.
India U-23 are clubbed with Maldives, UAE and hosts China for the September 6-12 qualifying round games in Dalian.
The dates of this tournament clash with the Kings Cup in Thailand — September 7-10 — in which the senior national team under Stimac will take part.
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“Stimac will not be available for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers as there is Kings Cup in Thailand. So we are appointing a new U-23 team coach who will also assist Stimac during the Asian Games. He will be an Indian,” AIFF Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran told PTI.
Stimac was at the helm of affairs of the U-23 team during the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers. The team had finished second in their group and failed to make it to the main tournament.
After the Kings Cup, Stimac will travel to Hangzhou, China for the September 23 to October 8 Asian Games as the country is set to return in the continental multi-sport showpiece after missing out in 2018. Since 2002, football in Asian Games has been an U-23 affair with three players above that age are also permitted in a team.
Many of the players in the current senior national team under Stimac are below 23 and Stimac can field them in the Asian Games.
“There is no other international tournament for the senior side during the Asian Games, so Stimac will be at the helm of the Indian team in Hangzhou,” Prabhakaran said.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had refused to clear the national team for the 2018 Asian Games on the ground that it was not ranked in the top-8 in the continent. But this time, India is taking part in the Asian Games.
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