why ranjit bajaj refused india u15 team manager duties for fifa u15 world cup

Why did Ranjit Bajaj Refuse to Join As India U15 Team Manager For FIFA U15 World Cup?

Aishik Das

Published - Aug 07, 2026, 08:22 AM

4 min

Add

As Preferred Source

Why did Ranjit Bajaj Refuse to Join As India U15 Team Manager For FIFA U15 World Cup?

Summary

Ranjit Bajaj has reportedly turned down the offer to be the manager of the Indian U-15 national football team for the U15 FIFA World Cup.
The AIFF appointed Bibiano Fernandes as head coach with Bajaj as the manager, which prompted Bajaj to state that people with different footballing ideologies cannot work together.
Bajaj also put the main blame on the federation for handling things in an unprofessional manner, as his appointment only came to light through the media, not through official channels.

The All India Football Federation's (AIFF) announcement regarding the amalgamation of two of the most prominent youth figures in Indian football has taken a serious turn as Ranjit Bajaj has reportedly turned down the role of being the manager of the Indian national football team ahead of the U15 FIFA World Cup.

It was barely hours after the federation's announcement that the Minerva Academy owner decided against taking up the role. Earlier, Bibiano Fernandes was appointed as the head coach of the U15 national team, and Bajaj, who is one of the most vocal grassroots advocates in this country, was brought in to add to the already existing youth setup.

However, in a recent turn of events, Bajaj has turned down the chance to travel to Azerbaijan with the team. Why this decision, and what prompted him to act like this? Let's find out.

Ranjit Bajaj Says U15 Managerial Appointment Came As A Shock

According to the renowned Indian news outlet Indian Express, Ranjit Bajaj had not been informed about his appointment as the manager of the U15 team by the federation beforehand, and it was only through the media that he got to know about his new role.

I had absolutely no idea. I found out only after I started getting calls asking me whether I had been appointed. That’s how I got to know. Nobody from the AIFF had spoken to me before the announcement.
People started congratulating me. Reporters were calling me for quotes and reactions, and I was sitting there wondering what exactly had happened because nobody from the AIFF had even informed me. Only I knew what the real situation was.

Bajaj further added that only after he himself reached out to the federation did they inform him about the role and stated that a formal letter would be sent to him. The Minerva Academy owner has revealed that he is disappointed with the way this appointment was conveyed to him in an unprofessional manner, which shouldn't be the case for the football federation of such a prestigious nation.

However, the reason for his refusal of the managerial position is something else. Ranjit Bajaj explained that he has enormous respect for Bibiano, who has been in the youth setup for several years, guiding the youth teams to many SAFF titles and has qualified for many AFC youth-level tournaments, but their philosophy is very different.

I don’t see the logic behind appointing me as manager and Bibiano as coach together. With absolutely no disrespect to Bibiano or his coaching staff, I don’t know them. If I don’t know the people around me, how am I supposed to work in complete sync with them?
It’s like appointing Mourinho and Pep together. I’m not comparing our stature, but our styles are different. They have different ideas, different ways of working. It just doesn’t make sense.

Going by Bajaj's statements, who has won several AIFF Youth League titles, along with international tournaments like the Gothia Cup, Mediterranean International Cup, and the Dana Cup with the Minerva Academy, it's clear that he wanted to take his own support staff to the competition, which is familiar to them. Working with Bibiano's staff just doesn't make sense, as he is not familiar with the way they function or even think while approaching a game, which is a very valid reason.

This entirely falls on the shoulders of the AIFF, who didn't reach out to Ranjit Bajaj to give clarity over his role in the team. They tried to put two of the brightest minds of youth football in India together, which at this point was just a scheme to please both parties involved, rather than it being a careful planning.

Bajaj has also criticised AIFF for preparing for the tournament just two months ago, which isn't a healthy time frame for any team to start their preparations ahead of a tournament of such scale. Such incidents are bound to hurt Indian football further if they are not rectified in the coming times, as we are already knee-deep in dangerous waters.