Pamela Conti parts ways Indian U17 women's team; joins Mexican outfit Queretaro F.C.

The Blue Fillies were just a win away from qualifying for FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup

The lady who achieved a historic feat with the Indian U17 women’s team by making them the first Indian women’s team across all age groups to advance past the group stages since 2004 has parted ways with Pamela Conti to join Mexican outfit Queretaro F.C.

Under Conti, the U17 women’s team made a lot of progress in the last six months, winning six games, including that historic win over Lebanon that propelled India to the knockouts in China.

Conti took the Blue Tigresses to the verge of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, and her side was just a win away from making history in Chinese soil. Despite that quarterfinal defeat to hosts China, India had a memorable campaign that will be etched in golden letters in history books.

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In this article, we take a closer look at Pamela Conti’s time with Blue Jersey and the notable feats she achieved in the last six months.

Winning SAFF U19 Women’s Championship 2026

Conti came to India with a lot of hope and expectations. She had an excellent resume, previously coaching big teams like Atletico Madrid U17 side and led the Venezuela U20 national team in the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. Time was running out as she had barely a few months for the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup.

Blue Tigresses decided to field their U17 women’s team in the SAFF U19 Women’s Championship 2026 in a bid to prepare for the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup.

They defeated Nepal and Bhutan in the league phase but succumbed to a defeat against Bangladesh. But in the finals, they bounced back strongly to get past Bangladesh 4-0 in the Finals to become the Champions.

International Friendlies against Myanmar and Russia

With three months remaining for the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup, the Conti’s side played out friendlies against Myanmar and Russia. In the friendlies against Myanmar in Yangon, they won both games easily, but the real challenge awaited them in Russia.

The Blue Tigresses played three friendlies in Sochi, and the Russian team thrashed India in all three games. India failed to score even a single goal in the three games but conceded 10.

But that reality check was essential before India were headed to the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup to play against even stronger teams.

Historic AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 campaign

After a series of disappointments in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup, the U17 women’s team were the country’s only hope in the continental tournament.

Unfortunately, they were drawn alongside tough teams like Australia and Japan. The start was worse, Conti’s side succumbed to back-to-back defeats to Australia 2-0 and Japan 3-0, but unlike the women’s senior team that conceded 11, the young girls still kept a decent scoreline against the Asian heavyweights.

But they were patient, and at the right time, they struck back after defeating Lebanon 4-0 in their final group stage fixture to finish third. Luckily, the Philippines dropped points, and India won the game big; hence, India made it to the knockout rounds.

India were just a win away from qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup U17, but they faced hosts China in the quarterfinals, who defeated them 3-0 to crush India’s World Cup hopes.

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