Marquez named head coach of India men’s team; Anilkumar appointed AIFF Secretary General

New Delhi: The All India Football Federation has named Manolo Marquez, the Spanish coach of ISL side FC Goa, as the new head coach of the Indian senior men’s team effective immediately, giving him the dual responsibility of managing the club and the national team for the 2024-25 season.

The decision to name Marquez as successor of Igor Stimac, who was not retained following the team’s failure to qualify for the third round of FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, was taken during the AIFF’s Executive Committee meeting, chaired by President Kalyan Chaubey, which was held at the Football House here on Saturday.

During the 2024-25 season, Marquez will continue his role as the head coach of the first team at FC Goa, handling both responsibilities concurrently before assuming the national coaching role on a full-time basis.

“It’s an honour for me to be the National Football Team coach of India, a country I consider my second home. India and its people are something I feel attached to and I feel a part of since I first came to this beautiful country. I want to do my best to bring success to the millions of fans we have,” Marquez was quoted as saying by the AIFF in a release on Saturday.

“I am very grateful to FC Goa for allowing us the flexibility to help the national team during the coming season while I am still the club’s head coach. I’m grateful to the AIFF for this opportunity and we hope to do great things for football,” Marquez told the AIFF media team.

Commenting on the development, AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey stated, “We are delighted to welcome Marquez to this important role and are also thankful to FC Goa for their generosity of releasing him for national duty. We look forward to working with Marquez in the years ahead. The AIFF, FC Goa, and Marquez will collaborate closely to ensure there is minimal impact between the two jobs and strive to achieve the best possible results for all involved.”

Aged 55, Manolo Marquez, from Barcelona, has extensive knowledge and experience of Indian football and coaching national team players, especially youngsters. Many national team players in the last few years were called up from his Hyderabad FC team.

Marquez has been coaching in India since 2020. He has coached two ISL clubs – his first stint was with Hyderabad FC (2020-23) before he switched over to FC Goa (2023-present). He is an ISL Cup winner with Hyderabad FC in 2021-22. Overall, Marquez had an extensive coaching career in Spain – Las Palmas (top division) and Las Palmas B, Espanyol B, Badalona, Prat, Europa (third division).

In other developments, based on the recommendation of the AIFF President Chaubey, the Executive Committee resolved on Saturday to appoint Anilkumar Prabhakaran as the Secretary General of the federation.

The Executive Committee has also accepted the resignation of Anilkumar from the AIFF Executive Committee and all other sub-committees he was a part of. Anilkumar’s appointment shall be subject to the internal protocols and induction procedures as required by the AIFF Constitution and he shall take charge upon the completion of the same.

The meeting was attended by AIFF Vice President N.A. Haris, Treasurer Kipa Ajay, and members Thongam Tababi Devi, Valanka Natasha Alemao, Pinky Bompal Magar, Menla Ethenpa, Vijay Bali, Syed Husnain Ali Naqvi, Neibou Sekhose, Maloji Raje Chhatrapati, Mohan Lal, Syed Imtiaz Husain, Arif Ali, Bhaichung Bhutia, Shabbir Ali, Climax Lawrence, and Acting Secretary General Mr. M. Satyanarayan. Executive Committee members Lalnghinglova Hmar and I.M. Vijayan attended the meeting via video conferencing.

Ajit Banerjee President, Indian Football Association (West Bengal), Caitano Fernandes, President, Goa Football Association, Mulrajsinh Chudasama, Secretary, Gujarat State Football Association, Anuj Gupta, President, Football Delhi, and Rochak Langer, COO, FSDL were present as special invitees.

–IANS