Khalid Jamil appointed as Head Coach of India Men’s Football Team

Overview

• Khalid Jamil has been named the new head coach of the Indian senior men’s football team.
• AIFF officially announced this on August 1, 2025.
• Earlier, three coaches were shortlisted — Khalid Jamil, Stephen Constantine, and Štefan Tarkovič.

Khalid Jamil has been named the new head coach of the Indian senior men’s football team. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) officially announced this on August 1, 2025.

The decision was taken by the AIFF Executive Committee (EC) based on the recommendation of the Technical Committee (TC). The meeting was held virtually. Three coaches were shortlisted — Khalid Jamil, Stephen Constantine, and Štefan Tarkovič. A detailed SWOT analysis of all three was presented by AIFF’s Technical Director, Syed Sabir Pasha, and National Teams Director, Subrata Paul.

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The session included AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, Vice President NA Haris, Treasurer Kipa Ajay, and other members from the Executive and Technical Committees. Dronacharya Awardees Bimal Ghosh and Armando Colaco, along with Dhyan Chand Awardee Shabbir Ali, also took part.

Colaco and Ali strongly supported appointing an Indian coach. Their views were supported by Technical Committee Chairman IM Vijayan, a Padma Shri and Arjuna Awardee. They pointed out that India had better FIFA rankings under Indian coaches like Sukhwinder Singh and Syed Nayeemuddin. This helped strengthen the case for Jamil.

Khalid Jamil has won the AIFF Men’s Coach of the Year award twice

Jamil has deep experience in Indian football and has coached many young Indian players at the club level. He has also won the AIFF Men’s Coach of the Year award for two years in a row — 2023–24 and 2024–25.

Vice President Haris and other EC members agreed that it was important to give an Indian coach this opportunity. While a few members supported Stephen Constantine, after detailed talks, the final decision went in favour of Jamil.

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India’s recent performances have been disappointing. Jamil’s first challenge will be the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 later this month. After that, the team will play the AFC Asian Cup Final Round Qualifiers in October.

Fans now hope that Jamil’s experience and understanding of Indian football will bring positive results.