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The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Amelia Valverde as the coach of the Indian senior women's team, according to a media release.
The 39-year-old Valverde, who hails from Costa Rica, has joined the Indian camp in Antalya, Turkiye, where the Blue Tigresses are preparing for the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026, scheduled for March. She joins the existing coaching staff - Crispin Chettri, Priya PV, and Mario Aguiar - to strengthen the Indian Senior Women's Team. 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, silver medal at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, and bronze medal at the 2019 Pan American Games. She was named the CONCACAF Female Coach of the Year in 2016. After leaving the Costa Rica national team, Valverde was appointed as the coach of Mexican club CF Monterrey in 2023, where she achieved immediate success, winning a historic Bicampeonato in 2024 after lifting the Liga MX Femenil Clausura title in July and the Apertura title in November. In the same year, Valverde was awarded the Mexican Balon de Oro for the best coach in the Liga MX Femenil by the Mexican Football Federation. As part of Valverde's support staff, goalkeeping coach Eli Avila and strength and conditioning coach Jose Sanchez will also join the Indian senior women's national team. Avila, a former goalkeeper, worked alongside Valverde in the Costa Rican women's national team and at CF Monterrey. Sanchez was previously part of the Costa Rican national team setup and club side Deportivo Saprissa. (ANI)
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