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FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: AIFF forms committee to address India’s loss to Afghanistan

By: Aditya Ahuja

AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey conducted a virtual meeting on Friday with senior Federation members to discuss the Technical Committee’s recommendations following India’s recent matches in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualifiers Round 2 against Afghanistan.

During the meeting, the AIFF President and members also addressed comments made by India’s head coach, Igor Stimac, regarding his future with the team post the Round 2 qualifiers. The session was attended by 14 senior Federation members.

The newly-formed committee has been tasked by AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey to engage in discussions with the head coach of India and seek additional clarification on the issue.

Earlier, the Technical Committee, chaired by Vijayan, convened on Thursday, where members expressed disappointment over India’s performance. Pinky Bompal Magar, Shabbir Ali, Climax Lawrence, Victor Amalraj, and Santosh Singh, members of the TC, recommended discussions with the head coach before the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kuwait (June 6) and Qatar (June 11).

India played two World Cup qualifiers against Afghanistan in the March FIFA International Window. The first match in Abha, Saudi Arabia ended in a draw, while the second in Guwahati saw India suffer a 1-2 defeat against the 158th-ranked team in the world.

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