‘First thing I have in mind…’: Stimac wastes no time as Sports Ministry clears Indian football team for Asian Games

The Indian football fans were greeted with great news on Wednesday evening as Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur gave green signal to both men’s and women’s teams participation at the Asian Games 2023, which will be held in Hangzhou, China on September-October. The development came weeks after it was reported that both India won’t be sending any contingent to China after failing to meet the sports ministry’s criteria.

However, the decision led to a mass appeal from fans, including head coach Igor Stimac, requesting the government to send the contingent for the Asian Games. Stimac also took part in a virtual meeting with the authorities, where he discussed the same and in a bid to convince them to consider the request.

Moments after the news broke, Stimac in an interaction with Revsportz expressed happiness over the decision, and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thakur for accepting the request. He was also overwhelmed with the support Indian football received in the last couple of weeks.

As football at the Asian Games is an Under 23 affair and only three members from the senior side are permitted, Stimac also discussed the idea of fielding a unit from that age group at the King’s Cup in Thailand. The senior unit were expected to play in the tournament as part of their preparation for the AFC Asian Cup. However, now with the fresh development fans can expect a blend of youth and experience in Thailand.

“I have great trust and faith in our youngsters and we will see what happens. It’s still far away towards the end of September, and we need to work really hard on the preparation camp for such a tournament. First thing I have in mind is that I might use King’s Cup in Thailand to prepare these boys, which is the only possible situation.

“Maybe give them opportunity to play against Iraq, Thailand, and whoever else is there to prepare them. Well, of course, there is another situation we need to overcome and that’s talking to ISL clubs, who are there to provide the candidates for the Asian Games.

“We need to make sure that everybody will be happy to release the players because you know that Asian games are coming out of the FIFA window. So few more challenges are there, but hopefully our football family will stick together,” said Stimac.

As per an official statement by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) last month Stimac will be at the helm in Hangzghou guiding the Under-23 unit.