Spaniard Manolo Marquez named Indian men's football team head coach
New Delhi, Jul 20: Spaniard Manolo Marquez, currently in charge of Indian Super League side FC Goa, was on Saturday named as the Indian men's football team head coach in place of the sacked Igor Stimac.
The All India Football Federation's (AIFF) executive committee, which met here on Saturday, appointed Marquez for the top job.
The AIFF said the 55-year-old Marquez will perform the dual role of managing the national team team as well as the ISL franchise in the 2024-25 season before taking up the India job on a full-time basis.
"The Committee, in the first order of the day, deliberated on the appointment of the new head coach for the Senior Men's National Team, and selected Manolo Marquez for the job, effective immediately," the AIFF said in a statement.
"During the 2024-25 season, Mr. Marquez will continue his role as the head coach of first team at FC Goa, handling both responsibilities concurrently before assuming the national coaching role on a full-time basis."
The tenure of Marquez was not disclosed by the AIFF.
Stimac was sacked as head coach on June 17, after the Indian team failed to make it to the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers despite getting a relatively easy draw.
Marquez has been coaching in India since 2020. He has managed two ISL clubs so far. His first stint was with Hyderabad FC (2020-23), before he switched over to FC Goa (2023-present). He guided Hyderabad FC to the ISL Cup title in 2021-22.
Overall, Marquez had an extensive coaching career in Spain. He was at the helm of affairs for La Liga side Las Palmas in 2017 and had also coached Spanish lower division clubs like Las Palmas B, Espanyol B, Badalona, Prat and Europa.
"It's an honour for me to be the national football team coach of India, a country I consider my second home. India and its people are something I feel attached to and I feel a part of since I first came to this beautiful country. I want to do my best to bring success to the millions of fans we have," Marquez said.
"I am very grateful to FC Goa for allowing us the flexibility to help the national team during the coming season while I am still the club's head coach. I'm grateful to the AIFF for this opportunity and we hope to do great things for football."
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said the federation, FC Goa and Marquez himself will collaborate closely to ensure that there is minimal impact between the two jobs -- as head coach of national team and the ISL side.
"We are delighted to welcome Mr. Marquez to this important role and are also thankful to FC Goa for their generosity of releasing him for national duty. We look forward to working with Mr. Marquez in the years ahead," Chaubey said.
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Over 300 students from govt schools in Punjab qualify JEE Mains 2026: Education minister
Chandigarh (PTI): Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Saturday said 305 students from government schools qualified in their first attempt of the joint entrance examination (JEE) Mains 2026.
This number reflects an increase of 63 per cent from last year's 187 successful candidates, he said describing the achievement as a defining moment for the state's school education system.
Bains shared that five students from his constituency Sri Anandpur Sahib also cracked the prestigious examination.
He announced that the government will organise a special three-week residential training camp to prepare the qualified students for JEE Advance, ensuring they receive focused guidance for the next stage.
"This feat marks a moment of immense pride for our entire school education department. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all our dedicated teachers. The recent JEE Mains Phase 1 results showcased an outstanding performance by the Punjab government schools, with 305 students cracking the competitive engineering exam," Bains said.
This feat represents a remarkable 63 per cent increase from last year's 187 qualifiers, he said.
"Achieving such a significant milestone in just one year is a testament to the transformative power of our Punjab 'Sikhya Kranti' initiative. We are committed to further accelerating our progress," the state education minister said.
He also shared that Bhavishya, a Class 12 non-medical student from the School of Eminence in Amritsar secured an impressive 98.182 percentile.
His father runs a mobile repair shop and his mother works as a tailor.
"Despite financial constraints, his determination to pursue engineering and uplift his family remained unshaken. With strong school support and disciplined preparation, he achieved outstanding success," he said.
He further informed that Dilkhush Jha, a government school student from Bathinda, scored 95.091 percentile in JEE Mains.
With his father being a labourer and mother a homemaker, and an annual family income of Rs 1.2 lakh, he relied on self-study.
Similarly, Priyanka Sharma, a science student from the School of Eminence, Sangrur, secured a 96.44 percentile in JEE Mains while simultaneously preparing for NEET.
Bains said no other state government has matched this scale of achievement in government schools.
He congratulated all 305 students and their parents, and thanked the teachers for making what he described as a historic day for Punjab's government school system.
