Jamil to take charge, 13-year wait for homegrown coach ends

New delhi: Khalid Jamil on Friday became the first Indian to become the head coach of the national football team in 13 years as he pipped Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic to grab the coveted post.

The last Indian to serve as the head coach of the national men’s team was Savio Medeira, who held the position from 2011 to 2012.

The 48-year-old Jamil had guided the unheralded Aizawl Football Club to a famous I-League title in 2017 and has a tough task at hand to turnaround the struggling Indian team’s declining fortunes.

A former India international and currently in charge of Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC, Jamil was selected by the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) executive committee.

Constantine was a former India head coach while Tarkovic has managed the Slovakia national team in the past.

The AIFF Technical Committee, led by legendary striker IM Vijayan, had shortlisted the three candidates for the executive committee’s final decision.

An AFC Pro License Diploma holder, Jamil will succeed Spaniard Manolo Marquez, who parted ways with the AIFF last month following India’s recent struggles.

“The AIFF ExCo has picked Khalid Jamil as the new head coach but his tenure has not yet been decided. We will do that after discussions with him and among ourselves. We also have to discuss with him his salary,” AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey said.

“Jamil wanted a three-year tenure. Some ExCo members said it could be one year or two years. But it will be a long-term tenure, may be two or three years, and performance-based,” Chaubey said.

The AIFF president also made it clear that Jamil will be a full-time national team head coach and will not be associated with any other

club.