The All India Football Federation on Tuesday denied reports suggesting it had sacked Nicolai Adam, head coach of the Indian Under-17 team. “[The] All India Football Federation is surprised and denies the news report about sacking of Fifa U-17 World Cup Team head coach Nicolai Adam,” the governing body’s statement said.
A report by Goal.com had stated that Adam, appointed in early 2015, had come under fire after his team failed to put up a strong show at the AFC Under-16 Championships and BRICS Cup. The team had also finished in last place in the recently concluded Granatkin Memorial Tournament in Russia. India could only manage a solitary goal in six matches during the tournament. AIFF President Praful Patel spoke to Adam late on Tuesday asking him to leave his post, the report added.
The AIFF confirmed that Patel had interacted with Adam, but said that he had only “discussed the performance of the team as well as the way forward towards preparing a more competitive team for the U-17 World Cup”, which India is hosting in October this year.
“It is [the] AIFF’s utmost priority to ensure a proper roadmap for Indian Football and the welfare of the boys. The team, which has been sent on long exposure tours by AIFF to Germany, Dubai, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Brazil, Russia amongst others would resume their practice on February 1, 2017 in Goa (sic),” the statement read.