Meet India’s coaching staff for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup

For the first time in history, the Indian team has qualified for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on merit.

The 2026 edition is underway in Australia. This iteration marks India’s 10th appearance in the tournament, which looks to put its unfortunate withdrawal from the 2022 edition behind it and improve its record in the tournament.

India’s coaching staff for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup?

Amelia Valverde (head coach): The Costa Rican native will bring her experience of coaching the Costa Rican women’s team and CF Monterrey Femenil to the Indian team. Valverde led Costa Rica to two FIFA Women’s World Cups in 2015 and 2023, and guided Monterrey to the Liga MX Femenil title in 2024.

Crispin Chettri (assistant coach): The West Bengal native is currently the head coach of Indian Women’s League 2 club Odisha FC and the assistant coach of the India women’s national team. Under his guidance, India achieved this historic qualification for the continental tournament. At club level, he has led Odisha FC to its first IWL title in the 2023-2024 season.

Priya PV (assistant coach): Priya PV was in the past the head coach of the Indian Under-17 women’s team. The Kannur-born coach is the first woman coach from Kerala to hold the AFC A license and the first woman from India to hold the AFC Pro license. She also led Gokulam Kerala to its maiden IWL title.

Eli Ávila (Goalkeeping coach)

Mario Aguiar (Goalkeeping coach)

José Sánchez (strength and conditioning coach)

Published on March 4, 2026