For any league to sustain itself in the long term, the involvement of domestic coaches is essential. Two such examples in the current edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) are Khalid Jamil and Thangboi Singto.

Notably, both coaches have been a mainstay in Indian football even before the inception of the ISL. And now, amidst the presence of foreign coaches, both Jamil and Singto stand tall, commanding their teams to glory.

The ISL’s new rule for the 2024-25 season, which requires clubs to appoint an Indian assistant coach with an AFC Pro License or equivalent certification, opens doors for domestic coaches.

This change allows Indian coaches to work closely with experienced international head coaches and provides opportunities to step into leadership roles, enhancing their prospects for future head coach positions.

Khalid Jamil’s first ISL project was handling the youth development at NorthEast United FC. A former I-League winner himself with Aizawl FC, and having managed big names in Indian football such as Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, Jamil rose to fame in the ISL during the 2020-21 season. After Gerard Nus’ departure, he changed the Highlanders’ dynamics and took them to the ISL playoffs, becoming the first Indian coach to achieve this feat.

After a break from the ISL, Jamil returned when Jamshedpur FC came calling in the 2023-24 season. The club parted ways with Scott Cooper and Jamil got the reigns of a struggling Jamshedpur side.

He showed resilience and helped the team fight their best but ultimately, they failed to make it to the playoffs. They retained him for this season and he is already working wonders, standing third in the table after three games.

Speaking on his counterpart Thangboi Singto said, “This season Jamshedpur FC have kept their belief in Khalid Jamil. I did my pro license with him in Japan in 2013. He has been a soft-spoken person, but he wants to show his calibre on the field. He is good example of a coach.”

“Challenges bring out your own strength”

In the case of Hyderabad FC, they had constraints with BC Jindal Group coming to the rescue of the club, but slowly the club have built a squad and their outings in the initial ISL 2024-25 fixtures showcase that they will be a side to reckon with as the season progresses.

Currently, they have only three foreigners compared to the other teams’ six – Cy Goddard, Allan Paulista & Stefan Sapic.

Fighting with almost a young contingent along with some familiar names in the circuit like Lenny Rodrigues and Arshdeep Singh is a challenging task at hand for Thanbgoi Singto.

“Challenges are what bring out your own strength. With the development of the league, one of the things which have helped Indian football is the development of Indian coaches. I am not surprised, but I am happy that there is a slight belief in the Indian coaches. Indian coaches have to compete with coaches coming from Europe. The places from where both are starting are different; I’m speaking about the footballing development in the respective countries,” Singto said about the development of Indian coaches.

Singto also pressed on how clubs and the management have started believing in the capabilities of Indian coaches.

“With the new ownership at Hyderabad FC, I am glad to continue as the head coach. They believe in me that I can do the job. With former national team players like Renedy Singh, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Gouramangi Singh and others completing their coaching licenses, there is a belief that we will have more Indian coaches taking the helm of ISL clubs,” he stated.

While Khalid Jamil has started the ISL 2024-25 season on a positive note at Jamshedpur FC, Thangboi Singto and his army look forward to grabbing their first three points, when they play their first home game of the campaign against Chennaiyin FC on Tuesday, October 1.

The two senior head coaches now act as the beacons of hope to the upcoming batch of Indian coaches, who possess the ability to manage and take an ISL side to glory.