Igor Stimac to stay Indian football team coach till AFC Asian Cup 2023

With an eye on AFC Asian Cup 2023, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has extended Indian men’s team head coach **Igor Stimac’**s contract until the end of the continental tournament.

AIFF's technical committee initially recommended the extension last month, which was then ratified by its executive committee in Kolkata. The Croatian coach signed the paperwork on Tuesday.

"I am extremely happy that the AIFF has placed the trust in the process that we have put in," Igor Stimac, who has overseen the Indian men’s football team since 2019, said. 

Igor Stimac led the Indian team to its second straight AFC Asian Cup main draw after edging out Cambodia, Afghanistan and Hong Kong in the third round of qualifiers earlier this year.

Stimac noted that the next goal for the team was to make it to the knockout stages of the Asian Cup next year.

"It is not an easy process and there will be plenty of pain on the way. But we must make sure that we keep improving and finding our best combination till the Asian Cup,” the 55-year-old Igor Stimac said.

AIFF's executive committee has also agreed with the technical committee's recommendation that Igor Stimac’s contract be automatically renewed should the Indian football team make it to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup.

The AFC Asian Cup 2023 will be held in June–July next year. The venue is yet to be decided after China pulled out as the host country due to COVID-19 concerns.