Football: Joakim Alexandersson appointed India U20, U17 women’s Chief Coach

Swedish coach Joakim Alexandersson has been appointed as the Chief Coach of India Women’s U20 and U17 national teams by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Alexandersson will commence his coaching stint in India with the two-month long U20 national camp beginning in Bengaluru from December 10. The 48-year-old coach has come as part of an agreement between the All India Football Federation and the Swedish Football Association.

The Swedish coach had an extensive playing career as a defender majorly for IF Elfsborg, captaining the club and winning multiple trophies. He is also a former Sweden U21 international. Alexandersson began his career as a youth director and coach at IF Elfsborg in 2014 and coached the Elite U17, U16, U15 and U14 teams of boys and girls, leading to multiple youth league titles and player promotions to senior teams.

Commenting on his appointment, AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey said, “I would like to convey my gratitude to the Swedish FA for the collaboration. It will help Indian women footballers to have better opportunities.

“Four of our women coaches, along with two goalkeeper coaches will be closely working with Mr. Alexandersson. The team of support staff will play a role with national scouts and Member Associations to identify talent across the country,” Chaubey said.

The AIFF President also informed that the federation is considering the possibilities of increasing the quota of foreign players in the Indian Women’s League. He thanked the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, for the support to host 90 leagues in three different age categories for Women Players under the Khelo India scheme. “This scheme will help us to expand the pool of players,” he said.

The coaches who will assist Alexandersson are Nivetha Ramadoss, Amrutha Aravind, Sradhanjali Samantaray, and Nidhi. The two goalkeeper coaches are KK Hameed, and Dipankar Choudhury.

Two friendly matches between India U20 and Maldives are likely to be played on December 30, and January 2, 2025. Overall, the AIFF plans to have longer camps for seven to eight months for the women football teams and arrange 10-12 exposure matches a year against competitive opponents.

AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan, who is also the head of national teams, said, “This is part of our long-term planning for women's football. We are preparing to have a two-year long plan with Alexandersson for Asian Games 2026 and the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026."

Alexandersson said, "I feel very excited about the challenge. I feel India has a big potential. Football is a big sport here and everyone wants to progress, so I think I have a good opportunity here and I'm looking forward to it."

India currently enjoy a rank of 13 in Asia in senior women’s football. To further improve the level, AIFF has an elaborate plan to broad base at the junior level, and the Swedish coach will have regular interactions with the scouts involved in the process.