Fake Form of Xavi Hernandez, Pep Guardiola applications came to AIFF for India Head Coach Role

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The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has claimed the application of Xavi was fake and hence it was rejected by the technical committee.

There were reports on Friday (July 25) that AIFF cancelled Xavi's offer as the former Barcelona star applied for a role. It was said that AIFF decided to reject Xavi's application because they couldn't bear the financial burden to land Xavi as head coach.

Upon investigation, AIFF confirmed these applications were not genuine. This incident echoed previous professional interactions with Xavi but clarified that he had not formally applied for the role. And on Saturday, AIFF confirmed there was yet another applicant for the Blue Tigers job.

AIFF says Pep Guardiola application was also Received

The AIFF revealed that applications purportedly from celebrated Spanish coaches Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernández were received via email. The federation has since clarified that neither coach has formally applied for the head coach position. Guardiola is the current coach of Manchester City and it is extremely unlikely that he applied for it. MyKhel contacted an AIFF official, who confirmed the fake applications.

"It is a public domain and anyone can apply for the job. If you add the names right and an e-mail id, everything seems genuine from the outside," the official said.

Mr. I. M. Vijayan, Chairperson of the Technical Committee, noted that, given the urgency surrounding upcoming fixtures, it was prudent to recommend three candidates from the shortlisted pool. Khalid Jamil, Stephen Constantine and Stefan tarkovic are the shortlisted ones, whereas Jamil is leading the race for the job.

Mr. Subrata Paul, Director of National Teams, highlighted the federation's commitment to appointing a coach who not only brings strong technical expertise but also possesses an understanding of the Indian game.

"We believe such a coach will be able to connect with our players quickly and effectively. Our focus is on finding a result-oriented professional who can maximise performance within the available resources and contribute meaningfully to the growth and future direction of Indian football," he was quoted as saying by AIFF.