Spanish Legend Xavi's Application For India Coach Was A Hoax, AIFF Falls For 19-Year-Old's Email Scam
It has now emerged that Spanish football icon Xavi Hernandez never applied to become the head coach of the Indian national team. Instead, the supposed application was the work of a 19-year-old Indian youth who sent a fake email impersonating the former Barcelona coach, leading to a major embarrassment for the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Reports on Friday claimed that Xavi had expressed interest in coaching the Indian men’s football team and had sent an email to AIFF to that effect. The news sent Indian football fans into a frenzy, with many celebrating what appeared to be a monumental move for the sport in the country.
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However, just as speculation grew around the AIFF’s financial ability to afford a coach of Xavi’s stature, Spanish media outlets quickly denied the claim.
Soon after, a video surfaced on social media showing the forged email sent in Xavi’s name. It became clear that the application had not come from Xavi himself but from a fake email account created by a young Indian.
Official AIFF statement after global backlash: @KhelNow
“AIFF received an email furnishing the applications from Spanish coaches Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernández. The authenticity of their applications could not be confirmed, and it has since emerged that the email applications… https://t.co/iRSOC7MVJz
— Ashish Negi (@7negiashish) July 26, 2025
Reports now confirm that the confusion arose from this forged email, sent by the teenager to AIFF. The federation reportedly took the email at face value, failing to verify its authenticity before considering it genuine interest from the Spanish star.
The revelation has sparked criticism of the AIFF’s internal processes and its ability to conduct due diligence, especially during such a high-stakes recruitment drive.
Folks in the media stop making a meal out of Xavi applied for the media job.
You should know better than anyone that it’s a diversion tactic by @IndianFootball . Instead demand @THESUBRATAPAUL to show the email that was sent by Xavi.
Engagement farming is as cancerous as AIFF— Blue Pilgrims 🇮🇳 (@BluePilgrims) July 25, 2025
Xavi Applied for India Was Big Fake News Confirmed by Spanish Media and Reshad Rehman 🇮🇳💙
Well Done Fake Subrato Paul of AIFF and @MarcusMergulhao 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/xSWbhuVfsP
— Mehar Sodhi (@gameonbysodhi) July 25, 2025
The search for a new head coach comes at a crucial time for Indian football. The men’s national team recently slumped to its lowest FIFA ranking in nine years, dropping to 133. As the federation looks to rebuild, it has reportedly received over 170 applications for the head coach position.
Out of those, the AIFF shortlisted three names: Stephen Constantine (a former India coach), Slovakia’s Štefan Tarkovič, and Indian tactician Khalid Jamil, with Jamil emerging as the frontrunner.
Notably, Xavi and another coaching heavyweight, Pep Guardiola, were also claimed to be among the applicants. But in a new statement, AIFF clarified that while emails had been received in their names, the federation was unable to verify their legitimacy.
“The emails purportedly sent by Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez were found to be unauthentic upon detailed examination. The applications were determined to be fake,” an AIFF spokesperson said.
AIFF Technical Committee Chairman IM Vijayan, speaking to Sportstar, added that many highly qualified international coaches had submitted applications, and the federation would consider them for future long-term roles.
