Former India coach files claim, seeks full contract payment
PANAJI
Igor Stimac, who was the head coach of the Indian football team, has taken legal action against the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for breaching his contract. Stimac is seeking compensation from AIFF through FIFA, extending until June 2026. This is the first time a former Indian football coach has pursued such a claim through FIFA.
Stimac’s lawyer, Davor Radic, has filed the relevant documents with FIFA’s legal portal. Radic argues that Stimac’s dismissal was unjustified and that the compensation offered by AIFF was inadequate. The case will likely be reviewed by FIFA’s Players’ Status Chamber (PSC), which handles employment-related disputes between coaches and football associations.
Stimac’s contract, which was supposed to run until June 2026, was terminated in June 2023. AIFF offered him three months’ salary as compensation, but Stimac rejected this, arguing it was insufficient. His original contract, signed in 2019, had included a three-month compensation clause, but this was removed in contract extensions made in 2022 and 2023.
Under the terms of his latest contract, Stimac was to receive 30,000 dollar per month until January 2025 and 40,000 dollar per month from then until June 2026. If AIFF is required to pay out the full amount, it could total nearly Rs 7.5 crore, with possible additional interest for delays.
AIFF has not yet responded to the claims filed with FIFA. The acting secretary-general of AIFF, Satyanarayan Muthyalu, stated that the federation had not yet received any communication from FIFA or Stimac.
Stimac was appointed as head coach in May 2019, replacing Stephen Constantine. During his tenure, he achieved notable successes, including a 0-0 draw against Asian champions Qatar and winning three home tournaments in 2023, including the SAFF Championship. Under Stimac, India also qualified for the 2024 Asian Cup finals and reached a FIFA ranking high of 99. However, India’s poor performance in the Asian Cup and subsequent World Cup qualifiers led to his dismissal.
Currently, FC Goa coach Manolo Marquez has been appointed as the new head coach of the Indian national team. Stimac’s Croatian assistants, Luka Radman and Frano Srdarev, who had contracts until 2025, are reportedly negotiating a six-month salary settlement with AIFF.
