The All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed on Saturday that a job application claiming to be from former Barcelona manager and Spain midfielder Xavi Hernandez for the Indian national team coaching role was a hoax.
Earlier, the AIFF’s national team director had told The Times of India on Thursday that Xavi’s name appeared on the list of applicants. The same report quoted a member of the AIFF’s technical committee as saying that Xavi’s candidacy was deemed too expensive to consider.
However, in an official statement, the AIFF clarified:
“The AIFF received an email furnishing applications from Spanish coaches Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez. The authenticity of their applications could not be confirmed, and it has since emerged that the email applications were not genuine.”
It had not previously been reported that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was also falsely listed among the applicants.
According to the federation, the AIFF’s technical committee reviewed 170 applications for the vacant head coach position of the Indian men’s team. That list was narrowed down to 10 names, and later reduced to a final shortlist of three candidates.
Former head coach Igor Štimac was sacked in June last year. He was replaced by Spaniard Manolo Márquez, who left the role earlier this month and has since returned to his position as head coach of Indian Super League side FC Goa.