Igor Stimac urges Indian Super League clubs, coaches to release players for preparation of major events

New Delhi [India], August 6 : Indian national football team head coach Igor Stimac on Saturday requested the Indian Super League (ISL) clubs and coaches to "release players" for the preparation for the AFC U23 qualifiers, Asian Games, World Cup Qualifiers and AFC Asian Cup. 
Stimac took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share a long note which mentioned that the Indian football team has worked very hard for the past few years and they are at a "crucial junction" at this point in time." 
He said that in order to reach new levels of success he urged the ISL clubs to release the Indian players to prepare for the upcoming major tournaments that will be played during the final months of this year.


"A sincere request to all ISL Clubs. Indian Football is at a crucial junction right now. We’ve all worked very hard over the last few years to create a culture and build momentum to move towards our ultimate goals, and we need to continue working together and march forward,” Igor Stimac said. 
"I urge all clubs to continue supporting our national teams, especially in the upcoming months packed with some major tournaments – AFC U23 qualifiers, Asian Games, World Cup Qualifiers and AFC Asian Cup. We as a nation want to be able to put our best players on the pitch against the footballing giants of Asia and the World and show them that we are not to be taken lightly," he continued. 
Stimac added that the amount of work that the coaches and clubs have done to develop the players has reflected in their performances for the national team and he thanked them for their efforts. 
He went on to state that the lack of preparation in time is holding them back from doing well in the major tournaments that will be played during November and December. 
"The work that each and every club has put into developing and nurturing our players over the last few years is really commendable and the results can undeniably be seen in the National Team’s recent performances," he said.
"I want to thank all the clubs and their respective coaches for the huge part they’ve played in developing. Indian football and kindly ask you all to keep supporting our request for longer camps throughout November and December prior to the World Cup Qualifiers and AFC Asian Cup. You dear coaches know best that short preparation time is killing any hopes for us doing well in these major tournaments,” Stimac added.
The Croatian coach further went on to state that the Indian players are ready to compete with the best teams if they get sufficient time to prepare prior to the match.
"Each national team’s success is adding extra value to all the players and now we know that our boys can compete against the best teams only when we are given enough time for preparation prior to important challenges," he stated.