Crispin Chettri is back in charge of the Indian women’s national team, restored as head coach just months after being replaced and handed the task of steadying a side still licking its wounds from a bruising continental campaign.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed his reappointment on Tuesday, a move that underlines a clear change of course after Amelia Valverde’s brief and troubled spell at the helm.
From Exit to Encore
Valverde’s tenure never really took flight. Brought in this January to replace Chettri, she was hired as the fresh face to lead India into the AFC Women's Asian Cup. Instead, the tournament in Australia turned into a harsh reality check.
India went out at the group stage, without a single win, in what was their first appearance at the competition in more than 20 years. For a team that had waited so long to return to that stage, the early exit stung. The AIFF Technical Committee responded decisively last month, choosing not to extend Valverde’s contract.
That decision has opened the door again for Chettri, a coach the federation clearly trusts with the longer project.
A Coach Who Knows the Room
This is no fresh start with an unfamiliar face. Chettri had already been in charge during the qualifiers for the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup, having first taken the job in February last year. He knows the core of this squad. He has seen them in competitive pressure, not just in camp.
Now he steps back in as India prepare for the FIFA Series 2026 Kenya, with the team already in Nairobi. There is no easing-in period, no time for long manifestos. The games are coming quickly, and so are the judgments.
Chettri has named a 22-member squad for the friendly tournament, a group that will double as his first testing ground in this second spell. Performances here will shape not just confidence, but the tone of his renewed reign.
New Faces on the Bench
There is change around him too. Sujata Kar, recently recognised as the 2025 AIFF Women’s Coach of the Year, joins the setup as assistant coach. Her rise through the domestic coaching ranks has been noted for some time; now she steps into the international arena with a clear mandate to add sharpness and structure.
Working alongside them, Fysal K Bapu takes over as goalkeeping coach, another fresh appointment in a backroom team that blends continuity with new energy.
The message from the federation is clear: the reset is not just about who stands in the technical area, but how the entire staff can push the team forward.
A Second Chance, With Higher Stakes
For Chettri, this is both a return and a reckoning. He inherits a group still searching for belief after the Asian Cup disappointment, but also one that has tasted the level it needs to reach and stay at.
Nairobi offers only friendlies, on paper. For India and their reinstated coach, they feel like something more: the first real clues as to whether this second act can finally turn potential into progress.
