'I Was Fed With Full Of Lies': Igor Stimac Accuses AIFF Of Lack Of Support During His 5-Year Stint As Indian Football Coach

Sacked Indian Football Team head coach Igor Stimac accused the All India Football Federation (AIFF) of their incompetence and lack of support during his coaching stint with the national team for five years.

Igor Stimac was appointed as the head coach of the Indian Football Team following the departure of his predecessor Stephen Constantine in March 2019. However, the former Croatian Footballer's stint as head coach came to an end after he was sacked by the board following India's failure to qualify for the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Just a few days after India controversially suffered a defeat against Qatar in the second round, AIFF released a statement, stating Indian Football Team will have a new head coach.

Speaking in a virtual media interaction, Igor Stimac revealed that he couldn't continue as a coach due to lack of support from the AIFF. He added that the board is surrounded by individuals with vested and private interests.

"It was impossible for me to continue without ample support, I was fed with full of lies and surrounded by people who have their private interests.” Former Indian football team coach said.

The Indian Football Team enjoyed good success under the guidance of Igor Stimac, winning four major trophies, including two SAFF Championships (in 2021 and 2023), one Intercontinental Cup, and a Tri-Nations Series in 2023.

However, the Blue Tigers were the verge of qualifying for the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, but the controversial goal by Qatar in the second round dashed their hopes of advancing to the next round of the qualifying.

'I have never been sacked in my life': Igor Stimac

Igor Stimac, who was part of Croatia team that won the Bronze medal at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, said that he has been sacked as a coach for the first time in his career after he was removed from coaching duties of Indian Football Team by AIFF.

"In my career, I’ve not been sacked till now, this was the first time. And it was wrongly so - in my reply to AIFF I’ve done the same." Former India head coach said in a virtual media interaction.

Before assuming his coaching duties with Indian Football Team in March 2019, Igor Stimac had stints with Hajduk Spilt (2005), Cibalia (2006), NK Zagreb (2009-10), Croatia (2012-13) , Zadar (2015) , Sepahan (2015-16) and Al-Shahania (2016-17).