Naushad Moosa appointed head coach of India U23 men’s national team

Naushad Moosa appointed head coach of India U23 men’s national team

The All India Football Federation, on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, appointed Naushad Moosa as the head coach of the India U-23 men’s national team.

Moosa will take charge of the team on June 1, 2025, when it begins its camp in Kolkata, with the long-term aim of preparing the Blue Colts for the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi and Nagoya, in Japan, in line with the plans laid out to the federation by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

As part of preparations, Moosa’s team will face Tajikistan on June 18 and the Kyrgyz Republic on June 21 in two exposure matches in Dushanbe.

AIFF deputy secretary general Satyanarayan M said, “In discussions with Manolo Márquez, we concluded that the federation needs to develop the U23 team with more emphasis. The best of these players are all training 10 months a year, and we are thankful to the clubs for the readiness with which they are available for national team duty.”

“However, some of them are not getting much game-time, which is where we are looking to bridge the gap by playing exposure matches against other competitive international teams of the same age group during the international windows. We want to thank NorthEast United FC for cooperating in releasing Naushad Moosa for the international windows,” Satyanarayan added.

As per the preparation plans for the Asian Games next year, the AIFF plans to utilise the FIFA International Windows in September, October, November, and March to arrange short training camps of around 10-14 days for the India U23s, which would also include matches against other U23 teams from around Asia, with longer camps being planned ahead of the June 2026 FIFA International Window, when there are no club matches.

Published on May 20, 2025