Infighting between national coaches and AIFF: the root of Indian football team's woes?

July 20, 2023, was a red-letter day in the recent history of Indian football. As FIFA released its new men’s rankings, India were placed at the 99th position. A 64-month wait had ended. India broke into the top hundred. Finally.

It was the celebration time for Indian football, whose sky looked azure, the grass looked emerald green. The long-cherished ascending dream in international football has begun with three back-to-back triumphs in the three-nation tournament in Imphal, the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar, and the SAFF Championship title in Bengaluru.

Who could anticipate then that a blind alley was waiting for Indian football just round the corner? As India take on Thailand in an International Friendly on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, they stand at the 127th position in the FIFA rankings. Ironic as it may sound, Thailand, who were 113th on July 20, 2023, currently occupies the 99th place.

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What exactly went wrong? Why did a team that bagged three titles between March and September 2023 against decent rivals and earned a memorable draw against mighty Iraq in the King’s Cup, losing only on penalties, suffer such a slump?

Is it fait accompli, as they normally say? The answer is: Certainly not. To put it plainly, more than the players and the coaches, it is the sheer mismanagement of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), headed by its President, Kalyan Chaubey, that has led to this situation. The AIFF has not only failed to capitalise on the upward graph, but has also downgraded the entire effort with poor planning, inability to strike a balance between the clubs and the National Team, improper handling of players, and by creating a cantankerous relationship with the National coaches.

Unfortunately, the seed of the downfall was sown in July 2023 when India broke into the top hundred. The participation of the National Team in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, became the bone of contention.

The ultimate fallout and bitter difference between the head of the AIFF and National Coach Igor Stimac began at this juncture, which finally culminated in the termination of the Croatian coach’s contract in June 2024.

Stimac was at no fault when he suggested well in advance that, since football in the Asian Games was an Under-23 tournament, he should take a team of U23 players to the King’s Cup in Thailand in September (7-10) and the same squad to Hangzhou later in the month. After due consultations with the ISL clubs, Stimac also submitted a list of players to be registered for the Asian Games.

AIFF didn’t heed the advice and decided to send senior players to Thailand.

It didn’t stop there. The AIFF President promised the Sports Ministry that senior players like Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu would travel to the Asian Games without even bothering to inform the National coach.

The mess that was created during the Asian Games would go down as one of the darkest chapters in Indian football history. The AIFF had to change the squad three times after clubs refused to release players, the visas were not ready, and a terrible travel plan left the players fatigued, as they had to sleep in the airport lounge. India didn’t have enough bench strength in the first match, as at least two players were yet to reach.

The fallout began from here. A furious Stimac started speaking his mind, which made the widening difference between the coach and the federation a matter of public knowledge. Twice, Stimac was served with show-cause notices, which further complicated the issue. By the time India travelled for the Asian Cup in January 2024, the very fabric of the National Team was already in tatters.

The rot had set in by then. India could not win a single official match after the away win over Kuwait in the World Cup qualifiers in November 2023. Almost the same set of players, who looked like the next-gen lot in 2023, were reduced to a rudderless bunch a year later.

The situation worsened with the AIFF making no effort to arrest the decline.

They were busy showing the door to Stimac, who levelled some damning allegations against Chaubey. No rule was followed to terminate Stimac, who, in retaliation, threatened to go to FIFA and walked away with compensation that left the AIFF poorer by nearly Rs. four crores.

Once the Stimac era was over, things were expected to settle down in the Marquez Manolo era. It hardly happened that way as India continued to struggle in the international arena. Rumours are now rife that the Spanish coach will not stay any longer and may say goodbye to the coveted post after the Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong on June 10.

While Manolo hasn’t uttered a word publicly, there is something seriously wrong with the setup that could force the second National coach in a short time to leave. The AIFF hasn’t come up with any fresh plan, not even a Technical Committee meeting was convened after the disappointing draw against Bangladesh in March.

With the Supreme Court expected to announce its verdict on the new AIFF constitution sometime in July, which may result in mid-term elections of the body, it won’t be a surprise if Sunil Chhetri and his boys are left to fend for its own for the Asian Cup qualifiers.

Fait accompli? Yes, now, it would be the apt description of the situation.

One of the most renowned football journalists in India, Jaydeep Basu worked for 37 year career as a sports reporter in renowned publications. He was Director of Communication and Media at AIFF from July 2022 to March 2025. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.