ISL 2023-24: Jamshedpur FC appoint Khalid Jamil as Head Coach till end of the season

JAMSHEDPUR: Khalid Jamil, who took NorthEast United to the playoffs of the Indian Super League (ISL) in his maiden assignment as interim coach, was on Sunday appointed as Head Coach of the Jamshedpur FC for the remainder of the season, taking over from Scott Cooper.

The experienced and highly regarded AFC Pro Licensed Coach Khalid Jamil will embark on his journey with Jamshedpur FC, starting with the Kalinga Super Cup in January, followed by the remainder of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 season.

Jamshedpur FC, who are currently placed 10th among 12 teams with nine points from 12 games at the midway stage of the ISL, had sacked Cooper a few weeks back.

Khalid will be taking charge of the squad immediately as the attention shifts to the Kalinga Super Cup where Jamshedpur’s first challenge is versus NorthEast United FC in Bhubaneswar on January 10, the club informed in a statement on its official website.

Khalid is a distinguished figure in Indian football as a former player and a successful manager.

He is the first Indian to be the permanent Head Coach of an ISL team and the only Indian coach to have guided a team to the ISL playoffs. In his illustrious career, Khalid has bagged individual accolades like the I-League Best Coach Award for the 2016–17 season with Aizawl and the FPAI Indian Football Awards: Coach of the Year (2020–21) with NorthEast United FC.

Khalid’s first engagement in the ISL was with NorthEast United where he signed as the Head of Academy in 2019-20. His breakthrough with the club came in 2020-21 when he was hired as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, and he led the Highlanders to the playoffs with a 10-game unbeaten streak.

In lieu of his performances, Khalid was appointed head coach for the 2021-22 season, making him the first Indian permanent head coach of an ISL club.

He also led Aizawl FC to the 2016–17 I-League title, making them the first club from Northeast to win the national title. His success with Aizawl FC was noticed by the entire football fraternity and he got the offer to be the head coach at East Bengal and later Mohun Bagan.

Jamshedpur FC CEO, Mukul Choudhari said, “I welcome Khalid Jamil, a coach with thorough experience in ISL and I-League. We have everything to play for with the Kalinga Super Cup and half of the ISL remaining. Hence, we believe he has the understanding, experience and track record in Indian Football to build and take us forward, starting with the very next game."

Khalid expressed his delight in signing for Jamshedpur. He said, “I want to thank the club management for giving me this opportunity and I feel very excited to join Jamshedpur FC. Our target is to bring Jamshedpur FC to a better position and for that, we all must work hard to bring Jamshedpur to the top."

Khalid also had a message for the ever-present and vociferous fans of Jamshedpur and Jharkhand and said, "Keep supporting Jamshedpur FC, we need your support in every match, more than ever."