Abdullah Al Mutairi
Kuwaiti football manager
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Abdullah Al Mutairi is a Kuwaiti football manager he is the current head coach of Sri Lanka national football team. He was also the head coach of the Nepal men's national football team for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC).[1][2] He has also managed Kyrgyzstan national under-17 football team.[3][4][5][6]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdullah Al Mutairi | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 18 December 1981 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kuwait | ||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Radhwa | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Qaryat Al-Ulya | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Kyrgyzstan U17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Al-Shahania U23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020-2021 | Kyrgyzstan U17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Nepal | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Afghanistan | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Al-Jahra | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2026 | Sri Lanka | ||||||||||||||||
| 2026– | Sri Lanka | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
Al-Mutairi used to train youth teams around Kuwait, most notably Qadsia. In 2015, he moved to train teams in Saudi Arabia like Radhwa and Qaryat Al-Ulya. On 18 December 2020, Al-Mutairi got his AFC pro license from the Qatar Football Association.
Nepal
On 4 April 2021, Abdullah Al Mutairi was appointed as the head coach of the Nepal national football team by the All Nepal Football Association.[7]
On 25 July 2021, Al Mutairi announced via social media his intention to resign, citing internal disputes and politics within the All Nepal Football Association and disagreements with senior officials.[8] However, he continued in the role and later agreed to a contract extension after the 2021 SAFF Championship.
In October 2021, he led the Nepal national football team to their first-ever final in the SAFF Championship, where they lost 3–0 to India. Following the tournament, he agreed to a three-year contract extension with ANFA.[9]
Throughout his tenure, there were ongoing tensions and controversies involving internal disputes with ANFA officials and senior players.[10]
Al Mutairi officially resigned as head coach on 11 September 2022, after 525 days in charge, announcing the end of his tenure on social media. His departure followed prolonged disputes and a period of leave due to health reasons, and he was succeeded by Pradip Humagain as interim coach.[11]
Afghanistan
On 26 April 2023, he joined as the coach of the Afghanistan men's national football team.[12] His first with Afghanistan ended with chaos when he ordered his team leave the field after Kyrgyzstan's first goal in the 97th minute during the 2023 CAFA Nations Cup.[13] On 16 June, Afghanistan lost 6–1 against Iran resulting in Al-Mutairi's team finishing last in the group.
His erratic behaviour continued in a friendly match against Bangladesh in Dhaka on 7 September 2023, when he was sent off after a scuffle with a Bangladesh assistant coach, Hassan Al-Mamun.[14]
Al-Mutairi was sacked by the Afghanistan Football Federation in October 2023 following ongoing conflicts with players and internal disputes over team management and coaching methods. Several senior players had publicly complained to the federation and refused to accept him as head coach. His dismissal followed incidents such as refusing to sign the match sheet for a World Cup qualifier against the Mongolia.[15][16]
Sri Lanka
On 20 August 2024, He was appointed as the interim head coach at Sri Lanka national football team for 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – play-off round matches against Cambodia.[17]
Al Mutairi stepped down as head coach of the Sri Lanka national football team on 22 January 2026 by mutual agreement.[18]
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 18 October 2023
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Nepal | 4 April 2021 | 11 September 2022 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 26.3 | |
| Afghanistan | 26 April 2023 | 20 October 2023 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 28.6 | |
| Total | 26 | 7 | 4 | 15 | 26.9 | — | ||