Angry coach Stimac tells Indian football 'to wake up'

New Delhi (AFP) – Igor Stimac warned that Indian football is a decade behind Asia's best and threatened to quit as national coach unless there are "drastic" changes. The 54-year-old Croat, who played in the Premier League with West Ham and Derby, was appointed in 2019 by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). But the […]

New Delhi (AFP) – India put up a spirited fight but suffered their second successive loss in the Under-17 FIFA World Cup after losing to Colombia 2-1 in New Delhi on Monday. Mid-fielder Juan Penaloza's brace kept Colombia's hopes of advancing into the last-16 stage alive, but the hosts are all but out of the […]

New Delhi (AFP) – A top FIFA official believes hosting the Under-17 World Cup has the potential to spark a football revolution in India — and lead to lasting change in the global game.  The run-up to October's tournament will see a programme called Mission XI Million aim to involve millions of children across the […]

New Delhi (AFP) – FIFA could pull Under-17 World Cup matches out of New Delhi because of concerns over air quality in the world's most polluted capital city, the tournament director said. Javier Ceppi said that air quality in Delhi was a "serious concern", particularly after the Hindu Diwali festival which this year falls in […]

Abu Dhabi (AFP) – India was pitted against Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Macau when the draw for the final round of qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup took place Monday. India, which like other Asian nations has invested heavily in football in recent years, is hoping to reach its first Asian Cup finals since 2011. […]

Karachi (AFP) – Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi said Wednesday the arrest of an Indian student for wearing a shirt bearing his name was "shameful", but would not deter the subcontinent's cricket-mad fans from supporting rival players. Ripon Chowdhury, 21, was arrested on Sunday in Hailakandi, a small town in the northeastern state of Assam, while […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – 'Slum Soccer' winning the inaugural FIFA Diversity award will mean the world to India, better known for its cricket than football, the CEO Abhijeet Barse told AFP on Monday. 'Slum Soccer' saw off two other short-listed rivals — The International Gay and Lesbian Football Association (ILGBTFA) and British anti-discrimination pressure […]

Kingston (Jamaica) (AFP) – Ajinkya Rahane completed a seventh Test century and Roston Chase claimed his first five-wicket innings haul, as India declared their first innings at 500 for nine at tea on the third day of the second Test at Sabina Park, Jamaica on Monday. India now lead by a massive 304 runs on […]

Kingston (Jamaica) (AFP) – West Indies captain Jason Holder earned a richly-deserved wicket at the end of an excellent spell of bowling, but India remained firmly in control at 425 for six at lunch on the third day of the second Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Monday. That gave the tourists a lead […]

Kolkata (AFP) – In a break from training for one of the world's largest football tournaments, Yakub Ali swells with pride at the idea of putting a smile on the face of his mother back in Asia's biggest red light district. "We've grown used to people sneering about where we come from and telling us that […]

After an incredible four months, my traveling adventure was coming to an end, but first I had the small matter of India. From the moment I had set off back in August, India was the country I was most excited to visit. I had heard lots of stories about people going to India that I […]