Khalid Jamil appointed head coach of India’s men’s football team Khalid Jamil has been appointed as the head coach of the senior men’s football team of India.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday announced that Khalid Jamil has been appointed to the post of head coach for the Indian football team for men. The announcement follows an exhaustive selection process through the month of November. Jamil succeeds Manolo Marquez as the head coach. “The AIFF Executive Committee, in the presence of the Technical Committee, has approved the appointment of Khalid Jamil as the new head coach of the Senior India Men’s National Team,” the AIFF published in a post about X.
The AIFF Executive Committee, in the presence of the Technical Committee, has approved the appointment of Khalid Jamil as the new head coach of the Senior India Men's National Team.#IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/R1FQ61pyr4
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) August 1, 2025
Jamil becomes the first Indian in more than a decade to lead the senior team. He was the predecessor of Marquez, who left the team in late November following a string of disappointing performances. The previous Indian to be in the position was Savio Medeira, who was the head of this team for a period of time from the year 2011 until 2012.
Jamil was selected in front of two potential candidates, who were the former India director Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic, who was the manager for Slovakia. Slovakia’s national team after being selected by the AIFF’s Technical Committee, chaired by famous footballer IM Vijayan. His first game will be in the CAFA Nations Cup in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan beginning on the 29th of August.
Jamil was the most recent director of Indian Super League team Jamshedpur FC, and the team was sixth in the 2024/25 season. Jamil is also the only Indian coach who has qualified for tournaments within the ISL and achieved this feat with Northeast United in the 2020/21 season.
He played as a midfielder in India in over 40 games. Jamil changed to coaching in 2009 after an eight-year tenure with the now defunct Mumbai Football Club before joining Aizawl FC in the I-League.
The 48-year-old also played the role of manager at both of the top football clubs in India, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.
Raised in Kuwait by Indian Punjabi parents, Jamil was able to move to India soon after his U-14 days. He began playing professionally at Mahindra United, for whom he made the majority of his appearances over a 12-year time.
All eyes focused AFC Asian Cup qualification
Jamil’s main task is to help revive India’s chances at the AFC Asian Cup qualification, in which the team has yet to be able to win a match during the final round of qualification. India is in the bottom of Group C, with one draw and a loss. India is left with four games to play, with two games against Singapore and one in Bangladesh as well as Hong Kong.
Only the winners of the group are eligible to participate in the main event that will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2027.
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