AIFF has been accused of bureaucratic mess and corruption that has stifled the growth of the sport in the country and Stimac might be exposing some of the officials if his post is any indication
Igor Stimac has promised to reveal the ‘flow of events’ that has led to the current sorry state of football in the country, days after being sacked as Indian men’s senior football team head coach. The governing body for football, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) fired Stimac earlier this week after the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers debacle.
While Stimac was the first to receive the fall after India failed to advance to the third round of the WC Qualifiers, the problems in Indian football run deeper than the sacking of a manager. AIFF has been accused of bureaucratic mess and corruption that has stifled the growth of the sport in the country and Stimac might be exposing some of the officials if his post is any indication.
“Hello my dear friends from Indian Media. I’m sure you, alike me, are stressed, disturbed and worried having seen the state of the national football over the last few months. You have every right to know the flow of events that put us here,” wrote Stimac.
Referring to himself as a ‘true Indian’, Stimac said he will ‘open the cards for the last time’ on Friday (Jun 21).
“I am a true INDIAN and I tried to help in whatever way I could. Let’s join in a friendly chat session at 14:00 IST on 21-06-24 and open the cards for the last time! Jai Hind!”
Hello my dear friends from Indian Media,
I’m sure you, alike me, are stressed, disturbed and worried having seen the state of the national football over the last few months.
You have every right to know the flow of events that put us here.
Also read | Indian football head coach Igor Stimac fired after 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier exit
Notably, after Stimac’s sacking, media reports claimed that he had threatened to sue AIFF if it didn’t settle his dues for ‘terminating the contract’ within the next 10 days.
The Croatian gaffer said that AIFF had previously stopped him from giving the truth to the Indian fans about the mess behind the scenes.
“I don’t want to speak or hear from AIFF anymore because AIFF has caused me enough health problems with its acts. Your “show cause notice” and “final warning letter” did stop me from speaking the truth to Indian fans, and it did give me two stents just prior to the AFC Asian Cup, but didn’t stop me from giving it all to my team,” said Stimac in the alleged bombshell email to AIFF.
“I hope India will find a way out of the mess, created not by me or anyone under my leadership in the last few years, and will always be in my heart!”
At the beginning of the year, Stimac had made the bold claim that he would resign from his position if India failed to advance to the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Despite being in a good position to secure the qualification, India lost the home match against Afghanistan and later succumbed to a controversial ghost goal in the final league match of the campaign against Qatar.
(With inputs from agencies)
