Khalid Jamil signs two-year deal as India coach, set to part ways with Jamshedpur

Panaji: Khalid Jamil will mutually part ways with Jamshedpur FC in the next 24 to 48 hours and take over as the new coach of the national football team.
The executive committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) cleared the path for Jamil to succeed Manolo Marquez as the national team coach on August 1, but it took almost 10 days of negotiations for both parties to reach an agreement.
According to sources, Jamil has now signed a two-year contract with a provision to extend the agreement by another year, depending on performances, largely linked to India’s qualification for the AFC Asian Cup 2027. The coach remains contracted to Jamshedpur until June 2026, but the club has agreed to release him, despite the Indian Super League (ISL) semifinalists being involved in the knockout stages of the Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament.
Jamshedpur won all three games and made it to the quarterfinals.
“Khalid wanted to take up the India job, it’s a dream assignment for any domestic coach, but it’s not an easy time for Jamshedpur since the decision comes just a month after they started pre-season,” a senior official told TOI. “The club will release Khalid and appoint an interim coach.”
Jamil’s first assignment with the national team will be the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup 2025, where India have games against hosts Tajikistan (Aug 29), Iran (Sept 1), and Afghanistan (Sept 4).
“The preparatory camp will start in Kolkata from Aug 15. Jamil has already been handed a list of players who were involved in the last three international games and he will prepare a shortlist. Since six ISL clubs are yet to start pre-season training, it remains to be seen if he only picks players involved in competitive games like the Durand Cup and ACL qualifier,” said another official.
Jamil’s first competitive match in charge will be an Asian Cup qualifier away in Singapore on Oct 9, followed by the return leg in Bengaluru five days later.
Jamil was handpicked by the AIFF executive committee after a recommendation from its technical committee, led by former India captain IM Vijayan. Dronacharya Award winners, Bimal Ghosh and Armando Colaco, advisors to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, also supported the domestic coach, ahead of Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic.
An AFC pro coaching licence holder since 2015, the 48-year-old has managed over 200 games in the I-League with stints at clubs like Mumbai FC, Aizawl FC – with whom he scripted a fairytale I-League triumph – East Bengal, and Mohun Bagan. In the Indian Super League (ISL), now the top-tier league, he has guided NorthEast United and Jamshedpur to the semifinals, despite being teams with much lower budgets.