ISL teams can now appoint Indian head coaches

After six seasons of the Indian Super League, there is finally a ray of hope for Indian coaches, with the league changing its rules to allow Indians to be head coaches of ISL clubs, The Times of India today reported.

Until now, Indians had only been allowed to be head coaches on an interim or caretaker basis, with the likes of Clifford Miranda and Khalid Jamil taking over the role at FC Goa and NorthEast United respectively, at the end of the just-concluded season.

In the 2018-19 season, Pradhyum Reddy had taken over as interim head coach of FC Pune City for eight games, after Miguel Angel Portugal was sacked, before Phil Brown was handed the full-time job.

Now, any coach with an AFC Pro License, or an equivalent from another confederation, can take over as the head coach of an ISL team.

“The decision to appoint a coach has been left entirely to the respective clubs. The only requirement, whether it’s for a foreign or Indian, is a Pro-License,” Times of India quoted an ISL source saying.

Before the start of the 2018-19 season, the ISL had amended its requirements for head coach, by saying that a club's assistant manager could take over as the head coach if he had a pro licence, and had been with the club for at least two years.

That change in the rule ensured that Bengaluru FC could appoint Carles Cuadrat to take over as head coach after Albert Roca had left the club following their Super Cup triumph in 2018.

The Times of India also said that despite this change in ruling, there is unlikely to be a flutter caused among the clubs, with only FC Goa likely to seriously consider an Indian option. Derrick Pereira is reportedly one of the contenders to take the job, which was left vacant by Sergio Lobera's sacking, and temporarily filled by Miranda, till the end of the season.