Igor Stimac attending a training session. (AIFF)India men’s senior national football team head coach Igor Stimac on Tuesday extended his contract till the end of the AFC Asian Cup 2023.
The decision to extend the contract was recommended by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Technical Committee last month and was subsequently ratified by the executive committee in their respective meetings in Kolkata.
The Executive Committee also accepted the recommendations of the technical committee which stated that should India qualify for the quarterfinal round in the tournament, then the coach’s contract will be automatically renewed.
“I am extremely happy that the AIFF has placed the trust in the process that we have put in,” said Stimac in a statement released by AIFF. “We have had a very good run in the qualifiers, and we want to make sure that we keep building ourselves up till the Asian Cup and give a good account of ourselves in the continental stage,” he added.
The 55-year-old from Croatia has been in charge of the Blue Tigers since 2019.
“Now that we have ensured qualification, we must make sure that we keep improving and finding our best combination till the Asian Cup,” he further added.
“Again, it is not an easy process, and there will be plenty of pain on the way, but if we can stick to the proper procedure and not take shortcuts, we can achieve our target of making it to the knockout rounds,” Stimac concluded.