Khalid Jamil appointed head coach of India’s Senior Men’s Football Team by AIFF

Khalid Jamil has been appointed as the head coach of India’s Senior Men’s Football Team by AIFF, after a thorough evaluation of shortlisted candidates. Jamil’s prior accolades and familiarity with the team made him the preferred choice for upcoming international fixtures.

Hyderabad: The All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) Executive Committee (EC), on the recommendation of the federation’s Technical Committee (TC), decided to appoint Khalid Jamil as the head coach of the Senior Men’s Indian National Team during its virtual meeting on Friday.

In the presence of AIFF President Shri Kalyan Chaubey, Vice President Shri NA Haris, Treasurer Shri Kipa Ajay, the members of the Executive and Technical committees, along with both Dronacharya Awardee coaches Mr. Bimal Ghosh and Mr. Armando Colaco, and Dhyan Chand Awardee Mr. Shabbir Ali, the AIFF’s Technical Director Syed Sabir Pasha and National Teams Director Subrata Paul presented a SWOT analysis of all the three shortlisted coaches – Khalid Jamil, Stephen Constantine, and Štefan Tarkovič.

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Mr. Colaco and Mr. Ali expressed their views that the AIFF should prioritise selecting an Indian coach for the senior men’s national team. All three opined that during their respective coaching careers, they, too, were once Indian coaches with no national team experience. However, they believe that Indian coaches need to be given a fair chance to prove themselves.

Technical Committee chairperson IM Vijayan, a Padma Shri and Arjuna awardee, shared his experiences during his playing days, and said that India had a much higher FIFA ranking with the likes of Sukhwinder Singh and Syed Nayeemuddin as the head coaches. Thus, he strongly recommended Khalid Jamil, as he has already been conferred with the AIFF’s Men’s Coach of the Year Award on two occasions (2023-24 and 2024-25).

Thereafter, the majority of the house accepted the recommendations of the TC. The AIFF Vice President Shri Haris, along with members such as Ms. Pinky Bompal Magar, Ms. Thongam Tababi Devi, Mr. Climax Lawrence, Mr. Menla Ethenpa, Mr. Arif Ali, Mr. Mohan Lal, and others, opined that for the betterment of Indian football, the federation must give an opportunity to an Indian coach.

Suggestions of Stephen Constantine also came in from a few members of the EC. However, after detailed discussions, the house decided in favour of Khalid Jamil. The house felt that since India are set to participate in the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 later this month, followed by back-to-back AFC Asian Cup Final Round Qualifier matches against Singapore in October, Jamil would be a better option.