The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has appointed Amelia Valverde as coach of the Indian senior women’s team.
Valverde, 39, who hails from Costa Rica, has joined the Indian camp in Antalya, Turkiye, as the Blue Tigresses prepare for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026, scheduled for March.
She is expected to join the backroom staff, including coach Crispin Chettri, who guided the Indian squad through a historic qualifying campaign that saw the team advance to the continental tournament on merit for the first time.
Who is Amelia Valverde, coach of the Indian women’s team?
Valverde, a former player who began her coaching career in 2011, was the longest-serving coach in the history of the Costa Rican women’s national team, managing Las Ticas from 2015 to 2023. Under her leadership, Costa Rica competed 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 at the 2015 World Cup at the age of 28. Previously, she was assistant coach of Costa Rica’s senior and U20 women’s teams, including at the 2014 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.
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Valverde led the Costa Rican seniors to the gold medal at the 2017 Central American Games, the silver medal at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games and the bronze medal at the 2019 Pan American Games. She was named CONCACAF Female Coach of the Year in 2016.
After leaving the Costa Rica national team, Valverde was appointed coach of Mexican club CF Monterrey in 2023, where she achieved immediate success, winning a historic Bicampeonato in 2024 after winning the Liga MX Femenil Clausura title in July and the Apertura 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 be part of the Indian senior women’s team. Avila, a former goalkeeper, worked with Valverde on the Costa Rican women’s national team and at CF Monterrey. Sanchez was previously part of the Costa Rican national team and club side Deportivo Saprissa.
Published on January 20, 2026
