Meet The 3 Shortlisted To Be Next Indian Men's Football Team Head Coach
AIFF has shortlisted Stephen Constantine, Stefan Tarkovic and Khalid Jamil for the Indian men's football men's team head coach.
The experienced Anglo-Cypriot Stephen Constantine, Slovakian Stefan Tarkovic and Indian Khalid Jamil were among the three candidates shortlisted on Wednesday by the technical committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the position of the national men's team head coach.
The technical committee, led by former captain IM Vijayan, selected two foreigners and one Indian for the role, which became vacant after Spaniard Manolo Marquez and the AIFF mutually agreed to part ways earlier this month following the team's decline.
'The technical committee zeroed in on three applicants and sent their names for consideration to the AIFF Executive Committee. The shortlisted candidates will be vetted by the AIFF Executive Committee which will take the final decision on who will be the coach," a source privy to the development was quoted as saying by PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Former India international Renedy Singh's name was initially considered but an AIFF source indicated that the Manipuri, currently the assistant coach of Bengaluru FC, was not among those shortlisted. He was discussed for the role of assistant coach, but the technical committee later decided it would be wise to make that decision in consultation with the incoming head coach.
Among the three shortlisted candidates, Jamil appeared to be the frontrunner for the job.
The AIFF invited applications for the position on July 4, with a deadline of July 13. They received 170 applications, including high-profile names like former Liverpool stars Robbie Fowler and Harry Kewell.
Other members of the technical committee included Shabbir Ali, Victor Amalraj, Climax Lawrence, Harjinder Singh, Santosh Singh, and Pinky Magar.
Constantine has previously managed the Indian team twice, from 2002 to 2005 and from 2015 to the Asian Cup in 2019. The 62-year-old also coached East Bengal in the Indian Super League during the 2022-23 season and was recently the head coach of Pakistan. He has also served as the head coach for Nepal, Malawi, and Rwanda.
Jamil, 48, is currently with Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC. He famously led Aizawl FC, then a lesser-known team, to the I-League title in the 2016-17 season, in one of India's football fairytale stories. A former India midfielder and an AFC Pro Licensed coach, Jamil was named AIFF Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. He played 40 matches for India between 1998 and 2006 and spent most of his club career with Mahindra United, Air India, and Mumbai FC. He has also coached East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, and NorthEast United.
Former player Tarkovic, 52, was the coach of the Slovakia national team from 2020 to 2022 and then coached Kyrgyzstan in 2023-2024.
It is understood that the AIFF aims to make the appointment swiftly, without interviewing the shortlisted candidates, as there is a FIFA international match window in September. India is scheduled to play their AFC Asian Cup qualifying round games on October 9 and 14 against Singapore, both home and away.
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