India Women’s Team Set Sights On FIFA Series With One Eye On Future

NEW DELHI (TIP) : Thirty-two days after their AFC Women’s Asian Cup campaign drew to a painful end, the Indian women’s national football team will begin a new chapter with renewed vigour at the FIFA Series 2026 Kenya. The Blue Tigresses will face the hosts in their opening game on Saturday at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. The disappointment of missing out on the knockout stage hasn’t fully buried yet for the players, but they are well aware that the end of one chapter is the beginning of the next, and that’s the main motivation ahead of the four- team friendly tournament, according to a press release from the AIFF Media. Crispin Chettri, who is once again at the helm of affairs as the head coach of the Blue Tigresses, stressed, “The idea is to start building for the future already. For the next AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2029 qualifiers and the 2031 World Cup qualifiers. We have to begin now.” Chettri led India to qualification for the Asian Cup last year and was an assistant to Amelia Valverde during the final tournament. “I think the expectation from everyone was that we should at least reach the quarter-finals from the group stage. Even the players had that expectation, so I think they are a little low at the moment,” said Chettri. India arrived in Nairobi on April 7 and has had two training sessions so far, with another to go on Friday before the game against the hosts.