Igor Stimac sacked as Indian football head coach

The All India Football Federation (AIFF), on June 17 relieved Igor Stimac of his duties as the head coach of the Indian men's football team after a disappointing campaign in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers. 

The decision was taken after a virtual meeting to discuss the disappointing performance of the Senior Men's National Team in their FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification campaign was held. It was led by AIFF Vice President N. A. Haris, along with key attendees like Menla Ethenpa, Anilkumar Prabhakaran, I.M. Vijayan, Climax Lawrence, and M. Satyanarayan.

In a statement, the AIFF confirmed that all the members agreed that it was time to bring in a new head coach so that the team could improve. 

The Acting Secretary General, Satyanarayan, was asked to inform the current Head Coach, Igor Stimac, that his contract was being terminated, following which the AIFF sent a notice of termination to Stimac telling him that he was no longer in charge of the team.

Stimac, a former Croatian international who won a bronze medal as a player in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, assumed the role of head coach of the Blue Tigers on May 15, 2019, succeeding Stephen Constantine. 

Igor Stimac's last assignment as the India head coach was the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. Under his leadership, the Indian team looked lost for ideas against teams like Kuwait and Afghanistan. The attacking half of the Indian team really struggled under Stimac's stewardship.