Teenager ‘fools’ AIFF, pretends to be Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez to apply for India’s football coach position

A 19-year-old allegedly pranked the All India Football Federation (AIFF) by pretending to be Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez. The teenager used a fake email to apply for India’s football coach position.

AIFF national team director Subrata Paul initially confirmed Xavi’s application to The Times of India. A video shared on social media later showed the prank email from ‘xaviofficialfcb@gmail.com’.

AIFF rejected this application, citing affordability issues. Sports journalist Naman Suri has revealed on social media that it was actually a prank by the teenager.

“It wasn’t Xavi who applied to coach India. It was a 19-year-old who used a fake email ID. I spoke to him and he showed me a screen recording from his Sent folder,” Suri posted on Twitter (now X).

“Yes, this might’ve been the email AIFF thought came from Xavi. Indian football deserves better,” he added.

Barca Times also claimed on social media that Xavi had never applied for the post.

“People close to Xavi insist that he never applied for the head coach position of the Indian NT. They believe the All India Football Federation intentionally used his name to boost the profile of the role during their search for a new manager,” the independent fan media platform, with 1 million followers on Twitter, posted.

Social media reactions Many social media users slammed AIFF for being “corrupt and liars”.

“Legends don’t chase roles, they attract narrative. And, right now, Xavi’s story feels far from finished… especially in the Barça orbit,” wrote another.

Another user wrote, “If this is true it's a very shameful behaviour from All India Football Federation intentionally using a legend for clout chasing. Xavi deserves better!”

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