Khalid Jamil named India Coach – Indian men’s football team gets the Indian head coach after 13 years

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) appointed Khalid Jamil on Friday as head coach of the National Football Team of the Indian men, which held the first Indian since Savio Medira in 2011–12.

Jamil replaces Manolo Marquez, who won last month after a profit -free term of office that extended over a year of competitive competitions.

Jamil was selected from a shortlist of three, including former national coach Stephen Constantine and Slovak manager Stefan Tarkovic. The AIFF Technical Committee completed the list on July 22 after consulting Subrata PAL, the national team director.

The committee tended to an Indian coach who could make contact with the cultural and development context of the team, a factor that helped Jamil to push to the top of the list.

On 1 August, the AIFF -executing committee endorsed the recommendation of the Technical Commission and confirmed the appointment of Jamil.

Budgetary worries also influenced the decision. The income of the AIFF fell from £ 137.74 crore in 2023 to £ 110.5 Crore in 2024, and it had to pay USD 400,000 to end Igor Stimac’s contract. In the meantime, Marquez reportedly earned USD 10,000 per international window.

In this climate, hiring an experienced Indian coach made both financial and football feeling.

Track record at home

Born in Kuwait, the 49-year-old India’s top division as a player won (with Mahindra United in 2005) as a coach (with Aizawl FC in 2017).

An AFC Pro License Holder, Jamil has coached I-League, I-League 2 and the Indian Super League (ISL). His I-League title run with Underdog Aizawl, the first and only top title, remains one of the most legendary performance of Indian football.

He recently took over Jameshedpur FC halfway through the 2023–24 season and sent the team to the Super Cup-Halve Final and later to a second place in one season and an ISL-Halve Final Plek in the following.

Sports star Understands that his work with Jamshedpur, which achieved a limited transfer budget, attracted interest from various ISL clubs, including Kerala Blasters. Conversations, however, brutal in the midst of the uncertainty around the following season of the competition.

Jamil’s first test as an India coach will be a steep. The Blue Tigers will be confronted later this month with title defender Iran and 2023 Asian Cup quarter -finalist Tadjikistan Tadjikistan in the Cafa Nations Cup.

India, currently arranged 133rd, plays the tournament outside the FIFA window, but with most of the National Pole available for a one-week break between the Durand Cup final and the tournament opener.

The tournament makes a new Squad selection possible for every matchday, giving Jamil the chance to assess a wider group of players.

He will stay with Jamshedpur FC until 2026, but is expected to stay at the club at least until the end of the Durand Cup 2025, where Jameshedpur has reached the quarterfinals.