Former India goalie Subrata Paul appointed National team director, Bibiano recommended as U20 women’s coach

Former India goalie Subrata Paul appointed National team director, Bibiano recommended as U20 women’s coach

Former India goalkeeper Subrata Paul has been appointed the director of the Indian National Football team, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Friday.

The 38-year-old played 67 times for the Blue Tigers and was one of the most reputed names in the Indian football circuit, between the sticks.

A Tata Football Academy graduate, Subrata rose to become a first-team regular under head coach Stephen Constantine and earned the nickname ‘Spiderman’ for his heroics in the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, 14 years ago.

While India lost all its games in the group stage, against Australia, Bahrain and South Korea, respectively, Subrata managed to make 16 saves in a single match against South Korea, which then featured a very young Son Heung-Min.

On February 21, in AIFF’s Technical Committee meeting, chaired by former India captain I. M. Vijayan, Paul’s appointment was one of the key decisions made while former men’s U-17 coach Bibiano Fernandes was recommended as the coach of the women’s U-20 side.

To evaluate the performance of the national team matches in both men and women categories, the committee also recommended the constitution of a four-member study group with Sajid Dar, Jeddy Almeida, Shakti Chauhan and Gumpe Rime as the members.

“In the technical committee meeting, we recommended a pathway for the youth development of Indian football for boys and girls. Starting from the age of nine,” Anil Kumar, AIFF’s General Secretary, said.

“The committee recommended introducing the inter-school grassroots level competition from the state level at the preliminary stage and the final round at the national level.”

Published on Feb 21, 2025