Amelia Valverde women’s coach ahead of AFC Asian Cup

new delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Costa Rica’s Amelia Valverde as the head coach of the Indian senior women’s team.

Valverde, 39, has joined the Indian camp in Antalya where the Blue Tigresses are preparing for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026, scheduled for March. She joins the existing coaching staff including Crispin Chettri, Priya PV, and Mario Aguiar. A former player who began her coaching career in 2011, Valverde was the longest-serving coach in the history of the Costa Rican women’s national team, leading Las Ticas from 2015 to 2023.

Under her tutelage, Costa Rica participated in the 2015 and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cups, their only two appearances in the showpiece event. She was the second-youngest head coach in the 2015 World Cup at just 28 years of age.

Prior to that, she was the assistant coach of the Costa Rica senior and U20 women’s teams, including at the 2014 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. Valverde led the Costa Rican senior side to the gold medal at the 2017 Central American Games.