Page 8 - Indian Football Team

SAFF Championship: India beat spirited Nepal 2-0 to qualify for semifinals

Captain Sunil Chhetri found the target yet again as India beat a spirited Nepal 2-0 in their second group match to book a berth in the SAFF Championship semifinals here on Saturday. Chhetri (61st minute) scored his fourth goal of the tournament before Mahesh Singh (70th) struck to notch up the home side's second consecutive win. India had beaten Pakistan 4-0 in their opening match on Wednesday with Chhetri scoring a hat-trick. Chhetri (91 goals from 139 matches) had already become the second most prolific scorer among Asians -- after Ali Daei (109 from 148 matches) of Iran -- and third among active players in the world. He is the most prolific goal-getter among active Asian players. With six points from two wins, India qualified for the semifinals from Group A along with Kuwait (also six points), who beat Pakistan 4-0 earlier in the day for their second victory. India play Kuwait on June 27 to decide the group winner. Nepal and Pakistan are out of the reckoning for a semifinal spo

India wins Intercontinental Cup 2023, Odisha CM announces Rs 1 crore reward

India wins Intercontinental Cup for the second time, defeating Lebanon by 2-0 last night at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar. The Odisha CM announced Rs 1 crore reward to the Indian team.

Sky's the limit and a long way to go for Sandesh Jhingan after 50 caps

On March 12, 2015, 21-year-old Sandesh Jhingan stepped onto the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium pitch in Guwahati wearing the blue of India for the first time.

Sunil Chhetri announces wife's pregnancy after scoring 86th goal for India

Sunil Chhetri pleasantly surprised fans when he announced his wife's pregnancy after scoring his 86th international goal. India enter Intercontinental Cup 2023 final with 1-0 win over Vanuatu

AIFF chief wants restructuring of I-League for survival of smaller clubs

All India Football Federation (AIFF) secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran "personally" feels that the I-League needs restructuring so that smaller clubs can survive by cutting down their players' travel and accommodation cost. Prabhakaran said he will propose a dialogue between the top brass and other stakeholders. He said if the money spent on logistics is reduced, clubs with less budget will survive and that will also help in the I-League having more teams across the country. "I-League is increasingly reaching to new geography and we need to capture new clubs, besides the old ones. The clubs should not put 80 per cent of their money to logistics. Currently, it's only 20 per cent which is going to football, the remaining is going for logistics. It can't be like this," Prabhakaran told PTI. "We have to see how we can reduce the cost of operation of clubs. The idea is not to reduce the budget, but that budget should not be used as cost for flying and for hotel. It could be used for t

India clears Pakistan football team's participation in SAFF Cup: AIFF

The Indian government has cleared the Pakistan football team's participation in the SAFF Cup in Bengaluru from June 21 to July 4, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Thursday. AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said India has "done its part" by clearing Pakistan's participation in the eight-nation regional tournament and it's now up to the neighbouring country to complete the formalities. "Yes, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and Sports Ministry all have cleared (Pakistan's participation)," Prabhakaran told PTI. "We have done our part. We welcome them (Pakistan). All the participating countries have got visa clearance. They have to do their part of the visa formalities." India and Pakistan are in the same group and they face each other on June 21 in their campaign opener. This is the first time in five years that the two neighbouring countries would be playing against each other. The last time India took on Pakistan on the football field

Supreme Court appoints ex-apex court judge to finalise AIFF constitution

The Supreme Court on Tuesday appointed former apex court judge Justice L. Nageswara Rao to take over the task of finalising the draft constitution of the All India Football Federation (AIFF)

Must resolve issues relating to All India Football Federation: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it must bring the curtain down on issues plaguing the All India Football Federation (AIFF), including the objections raised to certain aspects of its draft constitution. "We must now bring the finality...I mean the curtain down on the issue related to the federation (AIFF)," a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said. The bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, asked senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, assisting it as an amicus curiae (friend of the court), to have a meeting with the counsels of all stakeholders and find out key objections to the draft constitution of AIFF. "We will list it for hearing after the hearing of the Constitution bench concludes, the bench said. The amicus said everybody will have some kind of objections. Responding to the query of the bench as to who is heading the AIFF currently after the elections, the amicus said Kalyan Chaubey, a former goalkeeper from West Bengal, is the ...

AFC Asian Cup 2027: India withdraws bid, to focus on grassroots development

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has officially withdrawn its bid to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in India, the AIFF and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) jointly notified on Monday

Ballon d'Or 2022: Live streaming, timing, nomination list, and more

Indian football fans can watch the live telecast of Ballon d'Or, which will be available in the early hours of Tuesday

India U-17 beat Kuwait 3-0 for flawless start in AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers

India picked up a crucial win in their AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers campaign in the early hours, defeating Kuwait 3-0 in a thrilling encounter at the Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Khobar

India finishes U-17 Asian Cup qualifier campaign with 5-0 win over Maldives

India kicked off their AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers campaign with a bang, defeating Maldives 5-0 at the Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Khobar, in the early hours of Tuesday

India U-17 team beats WSS Barcelona Club in last match of exposure tour

In the final match of their exposure tour, the India U-17 Women's National team decisively crushed WSS Barcelona Club 17-1 on Sunday at the Soccerland stadium in Spain

PM hails captain Sunil Chhetri after FIFA releases 3-episode series on him

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri after FIFA released a three-episode series on the player's life and career, and said this will boost the sport's popularity in India. World football governing body FIFA has released the series on the life and career of Chhetri in recognition of his achievements and goal-scoring exploits. "Well done Sunil Chhetri! This will certainly boost football's popularity in India," Modi tweeted. FIFA announced that the three episodes are available on FIFA+, its streaming platform. "You know all about Ronaldo and Messi, now get the definitive story of the third highest scoring active men's international. Sunil Chhetri | Captain Fantastic is available on FIFA+ now," the FIFA tweeted from its World Cup handle.

Goa CM launches host city logo for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday launched the host city logo of FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022

Igor Stimac set to remain India's head coach till AFC Asian Cup next July

Croatian Igor Stimac is set to continue as Indian football team head coach with the Technical Committee of All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Sunday recommending the extension of his contract till the end of AFC Asian Cup in July next year. The technical committee, which met here under the chairmanship of legendary striker IM Vijayan, discussed the performance of the Indian men's team under Stimac and recommended to the AIFF executive committee his continuation at the helm of affairs. This will be Stimac's third contract extension after he took charge of the national men's team in May 2019 on a two-year tenure. In 2021, he was given a contract extension of a few months till September of that year. He was then given another tenure extension of one year which was to end this month. "In the first agenda of the meeting, the Technical Committee recommended the extension of Senior Men's Team Head Coach Igor Stimac's contract till the AFC Asian Cup 2023," the AIFF said in a release.

Sunil Chhetri melts hearts with tweet after first ever Durand Cup victory

Talismanic India footballer Sunil Chhetri has said it would have been a "shame" had an Army kid like him not been able to win the Durand Cup in his professional life.

Need to raise grassroots participation in football, says AIFF chief Chaubey

Newly appointed All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey said that it is important to increase grassroot participation in the sport to find more talent in the country

Shocked at high level of political interference in AIFF elections: Bhutia

Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Saturday said he was shocked at the "high level" of political interference in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) elections, which didn't pan out as he would have liked. Bhutia lost to BJP leader and former goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey in the election for the president's post. The 45-year-old Bhutia himself has dabbled in politics, having unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha and state assembly elections on TMC ticket in 2014 and 2016 respectively and founded the Hamro Sikkim Party in his home state. But he said, the AIFF elections should have been fought without any "political interference", and purely on football matters. "I was shocked because I personally did not expect that the political interference (in AIFF elections) would be of such a high level. I thought it's a football president election and I wanted to contribute with sincerity," Bhutia told PTI. "If they (his opponents) were so confident of victory, why a powerful union minister

India names squad for SAFF U-17 Football C'ship set to begin from Sept 5

Head coach Bibiano Fernandes on Thursday named a 23-member India squad for the SAFF U-17 Championship which kicks off in Colombo on September 5. India begin their campaign against Bhutan on the opening day of the tournament. The final is slated for September 16. "The boys have worked so hard over the months. They are excited. They are hitting the ground with high levels of intensity and motivation," said Bibiano. "We believe this batch has what it takes to outdo what the previous two batches achieved. Our short-term aim is to win the SAFF U17 Championship and qualify for the AFC U17 Championships as group leaders," the coach stated. Squad: GOALKEEPERS: Sahil, Julfikar Gazi, Tajamul Islam. DEFENDERS: Ricky Meetei, Mukul Panwar, Manjot Singh Dhami, Balkaran Singh, Suraj Kumar Singh, Chandan Yadav. MIDFIELDERS: Gurnaj Singh Grewal, Korou Singh, Lalpekhlua, Vanlalpeka Guite, Boby Singh, Malemngamba Singh Thokchom, Huzafah Ahmam Dar, Ngarin Shaiza, Danny Meitei, Lalhmingchhuanga Fana