Khalid Jamil has been appointed as the new head coach of the Indian men’s football team, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Friday. He becomes the first Indian in over a decade to lead the senior national side, taking over from Manolo Marquez.
Jamil was selected after a detailed review by the AIFF Technical Committee, chaired by Indian football icon IM Vijayan. He was chosen over former India coach Stephen Constantine and Slovakia’s Stefan Tarkovic.
Jamil recently coached Jamshedpur FC in the Indian Super League and led the team to a fifth-place finish. He also became the only Indian coach to qualify for the ISL playoffs, which he achieved with NorthEast United in 2020–21.
His coaching career began with Mumbai FC in 2009, followed by successful stints at Aizawl FC (where he won the I-League), East Bengal, and Mohun Bagan.
Jamil played 40 matches for India during his professional career. Born in Kuwait, he moved to India during his teenage years and started playing with Mahindra United.
His first challenge will be leading India at the CAFA Nations Cup in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, starting August 29. A bigger task awaits in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, where India sits at the bottom of Group C with one point from two matches. The team still has four games left: two against Singapore, and one each versus Bangladesh and Hong Kong. Only the top team will qualify for the final tournament in Saudi Arabia.
