When Igor Stimac took on the role of head coach for the Indian football team, he couldn’t have predicted that he would need to ask for basic things. He had to request the All India Football Federation to allow his team to play against strong opponents.
Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to step in to make sure the team could participate in the Asian Games. After a lot of effort, Stimac wrote another letter, this time to the Indian Super League (ISL) clubs.
He asked the clubs to allow their players to join the national team. But why did Stimac have to do this?
You see, all the players in the Indian team also play for different clubs. The new football season is starting soon, and while players don’t get paid for playing for the national team, they can earn a lot of money – about one crore rupees – if they play for their clubs.
So, the clubs want to keep their players to make money. Once the season starts, the clubs decide everything about a player or at least have a say.
This is not just happening in India or in football. It’s the same in other countries and different sports too.
A Changed Football Schedule
From September to January, the Indian team has to play at least one international match, which is not common for Indian football.
The team will go to Thailand for the King’s Cup. At the same time, the under-23 team will play in a championship in China. After that, there’s the Asian Games. Senior players will join the under-23 team for this.
In October, the team will play in Malaysia for the Merdeka Cup. The next month, there are important matches for the 2026 World Cup and the Asian Cup. In December, there are friendly matches.
All these events mean that the clubs need to allow their players to join the national team for the King’s Cup, Merdeka Cup, under-23 championship, Asian Cup, and World Cup matches.
But there’s a problem with the Asian Games. The clubs don’t want to let their players go for this event. It’s not against the rules if Bengaluru FC, for example, doesn’t want to let players like Sunil Chhetri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu go.
However, Stimac needs the players more than just three days before a match. He wants them to be with the national team for a good amount of time. This helps the players prepare well.
Chhetri and Sandhu are supporting Stimac’s request. The Indian team hasn’t lost a match in 2023. The players say it’s because they’ve been practicing without any breaks. These wins have made Indian football fans very excited about the team’s future.
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