Xavi's mail applying for Indian football team's head coach a hoax!!

New Delhi: In a recent development of legendary Barcelona football player Xavi Hernandez mailing the All India Football Federation an application for the post of football coach, it turned out that a 19-year-old sent the national football body a fake mail, pranking it, reports suggested.

Earlier, AIFF national team director Subrata Paul had confirmed Xavi’s application to the Times of India, but later, sports journalist Naman Suri revealed on social media that the mail was a prank, played by a teenager.

Suri wrote on X, “It wasn’t Xavi who applied to coach India. It was a 19-year-old who used a fake email ID. I spoke to him about an AIFF confirmation of Xavi, Pep applications for men's team head coach were a hoax."

Later, AIFF confirmed that it received emails claiming to be job applications from famous Spanish football coaches. The body revealed that it received fake mails from Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez for the role of men's national team head coach, IANS reported.

The AIFF Technical Committee recently met to evaluate 170 applications received for the position of head coach of the Indian men’s national team. Following comprehensive discussions and a rigorous selection process, 10 candidates were selected for the committee to review, and it was narrowed down to three candidates: Khalid Jamil, Stephen Constantine, and Stefan Tark.

I M Vijayan, Chairperson, Technical Committee, stated, “Given the immediate needs of the national team, it is advisable to recommend three coaches from the shortlisted pool for final consideration. Other prominent applicants, many of whom are highly qualified international coaches, will be taken into account for long-term strategic roles in the future.”

Subrata Paul, Director, National Teams, said, “It is a very important moment for Indian football, and we are committed to appointing a coach who not only brings technical expertise but also understands the unique style, culture, and dynamics of Indian and Asian football. 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.”