AFC Asia Cup: Blue Tigresses to have former Costa Rica coach as mentor
Amelia Valverde guided their team in 2015 and 2013 showpieces; formalities to completed by next week: AIFF
The tune-up of India’s senior national women’s team for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asia Cup in Australia in March is set to receive a major boost in the shape of a mentor in Amelia Valverde, former coach of World Cuppers Costa Rica. Valverde had coached Costa Rica in two women’s World Cups - 2015 and 2023.
While head coach Crispin Chhetri will continue to be at the helm after a stirring show of the squad in the qualifiers last year, Valverde’s short term presence is meant to equip the team to handle the big moments. Having managed Costa Rica women’s national team at two FIFA World Cups, the expectations of her now is to lead the Indian team out of the group stage, giving them a shot at qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup through the intercontinental playoffs.
At just 28 years old, Valverde became the head coach of senior women’s national team. Under her leadership, Costa Rica made history by qualifying for their first-ever Women’s World Cup in 2015. Her remarkable journey continued with gold and silver medals in the Central American Games (2017 and 2018, respectively). In 2022, Costa Rica finished fourth in the CONCACAF Championship, securing qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
When contacted, a AIFF spokesperson said they were expecting all formalities to be ‘’completed within the coming week.’’ Amelia, who turned 39 earlier this week, will join the squad in Turkey along with a goalkeeping coach and strength and conditioning expert. The senior team, with a squad of 26 players, departed for a training camp in Türkiye on Thursday where they will play three closed door exhibition matches.
The Blue Tigresses, as India’s women’s team are known, provided one of the few silver linings in a dismal 2025 for Indian football as they made the cut for the 2026 Asian Cup finals in three age groups – senior, Under-20 and Under-17. The men’s campaign, on the other hand, to qualify for their third Asian Cup finals ended in a whimper.
The squad held a brief three-day training camp in Gurugram, Haryana, from January 12 to 14. In Turkey, they will play closed-door friendly matches against three European clubs — FC Metalist 1925 Kharkiv (Ukraine) on January 18, FC Zürich Frauen (Switzerland) on January 21 and FC Schlieren (Switzerland) on January 24, in the city of Manavgat, around 75 kilometres from Antalya.
India, placed in Group C , play their first match against Vietnam in AFC Asia Cup on March 4.
Fixtures:
January 18: India vs FC Metalist 1925 Kharkiv, Emirhan Sport Center (5.30 pm IST)
January 21: India vs FC Zürich Frauen, Emirhan Sport Center (5.30 pm)
January 24: India vs FC Schlieren, Evrenseki/Ilıca Stadium (5.30 pm)