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Football: On Jamil rests India’s Asian Cup hopes
Khalid Jamil, newly appointed India coach, led a training session with Jamshedpur FC, amid discussions on his contract and support staff.
Kolkata: Hours after being named India coach, Khalid Jamil took a training session with Jamshedpur FC. It could be the last one Jamil takes at the Indian Super League (ISL) club he joined on December 31, 2023. Between then and Friday, Jamil had overseen Jamshedpur FC being docked three points for fielding an extra foreigner and making the ISL semi-final and the Super Cup final.
It was the last two in 2024-25 that got Jamil’s former coach and teammates to support him as the first Indian in charge of the national team since Savio Medeira in 2012. The post opened when Spaniard Manolo Marquez stepped down as head coach after 11 months.
IM Vijayan, who chairs the technical committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), backed his former India teammate, who was voted AIFF coach of the year twice in succession, as did Bimal Ghosh under whom Jamil had blossomed into a versatile midfielder. At the virtual AIFF executive committee meeting on Friday, they also got support from Armando Colaco and Shabbir Ali, the former India captain who is also a technical committee and executive committee member.
According to those who attended the meeting, Ghosh proposed only Jamil’s name and Colaco said he would be the first choice followed by Stephen Constantine. Decorated former coaches both, Colaco and Ghosh are advisors to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey. Members also spoke of Jamil’s lack of international experience and in managing a squad that has the best Indian players but Colaco and Ali, as per the AIFF media release, said he needed to be given a chance.
There was support for Constantine as well with one member pointing out how he had ensured a smooth transition from Sukhwinder Singh in 2002 and another AIFF official saying since the new coach will not have time to settle down, the Anglo-Cypriot was his choice. Stefan Tarkovic, the other coach in the three-man shortlist, was barely discussed.
Chaubey told PTI that Jamil has asked for a three-year term. An executive committee member suggested that the new coach be given a one-year contract, in line with the term remaining for the members, with a scope for extension, according to an official in the meeting. “It will be a long-term tenure, may be two or three years, and performance-based,” Chaubey has said. “The details will be firmed up by AIFF in consultation with Jamil,” said a federation official.
Also awaiting details are Jamil’s current employers. Jamshedpur FC play 1 Ladakh in Durand Cup on August 8 and the quarter-final on August 16 or 17. But should Jamil want to start preparation for the CAFA Nations Cup, where India start on August 29 against Tajikistan, he may have to be released earlier, or Jamshedpur may request AIFF to let him manage club and country in the short term.
As per AIFF officials in the meeting, Jamil has asked for a support staff of six most of whom could be from Jamshedpur FC. Jamil’s salary will be around ₹1.2 crore annually, according to an official who was in the meeting. Constantine and Tarkovic had sought $240,000 ( ₹20.9 crore approximately) after tax annually, the official said. Since they are not allowed to speak to the media on this, the officials mentioned in this report have requested anonymity.
A football obsessive known for his ability to revive players’ careers and get clubs to punch above their weight, Jamil’s biggest challenge will be to ensure that India, who have slipped to 133 in the FIFA rankings, qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup. A first-ever hattrick of successful qualifying campaigns is, in the words of India’s talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri, the bare minimum. At the bottom of the four-team group after a draw and a defeat, India will play Singapore next home and away in October.
Jamil’s teams are known for defensive solidity but have sometimes cracked in trying to take the game to the opponents. Six of Jamshedpur’s 10 defeats in 2024-25 ISL came against teams that finished below them. India are the highest-ranked team in group C of the Asian Cup qualifiers and that could mean Jamil having to work out a way against tactics he is famous for deploying.
