When Manolo Marquez was appointed head coach of the Indian men’s football team in July last year, he was also head coach of FC Goa and continued in that dual role for some time even after his national appointment. However, All-India Football Federation (AIFF) are very clear that history won’t repeat in the case of newly-appointed national coach Khalid Jamil, who is also head coach of Jamshedpur FC. “From the discussions we [AIFF and Jamil] have had so far, it is clear that the AIFF is not in favour of dual roles. Everyone involved is on the same page on this matter,” AIFF’s Technical Director and former India goalkeeper Subrata Paul told mid-day on Friday.
Explaining how AIFF arrived at their decision to pick Jamil, Paul said: “The decision to appoint Khalid Jamil was a collective one taken by both the Executive Committee and the Technical Committee. We, at AIFF, shared all the inputs and perspectives we had. Ultimately, the committees deliberated and agreed on the decision together.”
The AIFF have also spelt out their immediate goal for the new chief coach. Jamil’s first assignment will be the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup (August 31-September 8) in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan where India are drawn alongside Tajikistan, Islamic Republic of Iran and Afghanistan in Group B. The tournament will serve as preparation for the all-important AFC Asian 2027 Qualifiers Final Round, which is AIFF’s main point of focus. “The collective focus is very clear — qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup is at the top of our priority list,” concluded Paul.
