Former Portugal striker Luis Norton Matos has been hired by the AIFF as the coach of the Indian Under-17 team, ahead of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in October.
Matos, who was understood to be one of two candidates being considered for the job, met the AIFF Advisory Committee including representatives from the Sports Authority of India on Monday. He also had a chat with Injeti Srinivas, the director general of SAI, before flying to Mumbai on Tuesday to meet with the AIFF president Praful Patel.
"It's nice to have Mr. Matos on board. His experience of handling youth Teams will come in handy for the U-17 boys as we wish to leave no stone unturned to field a competitive team in the U-17 World Cup," Patel said. "I expect him to guide our boys to put up a strong performance in the World Cup."
Matos, capped as a forward by the Portugal national team and a player who plied his trade in clubs in Portugal and Belgium, has been associated with teams like Vitoria Guimaraes and Benfica B as coach.
He also served as director of football at Sporting Clube de Portugal. The only international team Matos has coaching experience with is Guinea-Bissau, where he was at the helm between 2010 and 2012.
"My role will be to orchestrate everything wherein the players will be playing their part," Matos said. "I admire the AIFF's vision and the U-17 World Cup will act as a base for development of football in India. The players need to believe in themselves to do something special for the country."