The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday appointed former international Khalid Jamil as the new head coach of the national men’s team. His appointment comes just a month after Spain’s Manolo Marquez resigned following a dismal run of results.
Jamil, 48, was chosen ahead of seasoned foreign candidates including England’s Stephen Constantine and Slovakia’s Stefan Tarkovic. According to an AIFF statement, the selection committee, led by president Kalyan Chaubey, said they believed that Indian coaches `need to be given a fair chance to prove themselves`. Jamil’s deep experience with domestic players and Indian clubs was a decisive factor in his appointment.
Jamil thus became the first Indian coach to take charge of the senior men’s national team in over a decade, following Savio Medeira’s tenure from 2011 to 2012.
Born in Kuwait, Jamil represented India as a midfielder in 40 international matches between 1998 and 2006. After retiring from professional football in 2009, he transitioned into management, going on to coach several top-tier Indian clubs. In 2023, he took over as head coach of Jamshedpur FC in the Indian Super League (ISL), where he earned praise for nurturing local talent.
While some members of the AIFF executive committee reportedly advocated for the return of Stephen Constantine, who had two previous stints with the Indian national side, the consensus ultimately leaned towards Jamil.
Jamil takes over at a turbulent time. Indian football is mired in uncertainty, with the upcoming ISL season hanging in the balance due to an unresolved dispute between the AIFF and its commercial partner. Meanwhile, the national team has slipped to 133rd in the FIFA rankings, their lowest position in nearly a decade, and has managed just one victory in its last 16 outings.
India will next compete in the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 later this month, followed by crucial AFC Asian Cup final round qualifiers against Singapore in October. With qualification for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup at stake, Jamil faces an uphill task in restoring belief, structure, and consistency within the squad.
Marquez, Jamil’s predecessor, had stepped down after a brief and underwhelming tenure that yielded just one win in eight matches. Once dubbed a `sleeping giant` of football by former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, India now looks to Jamil to awaken that long-awaited potential.
