AIFF names Jamil men’s football team coach, tenure likely to be “two or three” years

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.

A former India international and currently in charge of Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC, Jamil, 48, was selected by the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) executive committee. “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 told PTI after the meeting. “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 Executive Committee approved the appointment from a three-member shortlist submitted by the AIFF Technical Committee. The other two contenders were former India head coach Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic, who previously managed the Slovakia national team.

In a statement issued by the AIFF, the governing body confirmed that Dronacharya Awardee coaches Bimal Ghosh and Armando Colaco, and Dhyan Chand Awardee Shabbir Ali, alongside Technical Committee chairperson IM Vijayan were heavily in favour of appointing an Indian coach at the helm for the first time in 13 years.

“In the presence of AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, Vice President NA Haris, Treasurer Shri Kipa Ajay, the members of the Executive and Technical committees, along with both Dronacharya Awardee coaches Bimal Ghosh and Armando Colaco, and Dhyan Chand Awardee 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 Stefan Tarkovic,” read the statement by the AIFF.