Sajid Yousuf Dar is an Indian football coach and former football player. He is the former Head Coach of Senior Indian Women National Football Team and Indian Youth Football Teams (Boys).[1] In November 2024 Sajid completed the AFC Pro Licence which is the highest level of coaching in Asia.[2] He is currently AIFF/AFC Coach Educator and Working as a Football Coach in University of Kashmir. During his playing days, Sajid represented Jammu and Kashmir in the Santosh Trophy from 2000 to 2002. He captained JK YMCA in Federation Cup in 1998. He is considered to be one of the best football coaches in the country. He holds the record for Winning two consecutive Silverwares, the Gold in South Asian Games and the SAFF CUP. He is son of international footballer Mohammad Yousuf Dar.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sajid Yousuf Dar | ||
| Place of birth | Jammu and Kashmir, India | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –2000 | YMCA | ||
| 2000–2002 | Jammu and Kashmir | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2011–12 | India U19 (assistant) | ||
| 2012–2014 | Indian U14 and U16 | ||
| 2015–2017 | Indian Women | ||
| 2016 | India Women U19 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editBorn in Jammu and Kashmir, Sajid in his early days started his career at local and school level. He made it to YMCA Football Club which used to be among the best teams in J and K. He went on to play for YMCA in the Federation Cup and under his captaincy YMCA won many prestigious tournaments in the 1990s. He also represented Jammu and Kashmir in the Junior Nationals and Santosh Trophy from 2000 to 2002. Sajid also played for JKSRTC Football Team and Iqbal Sports and was considered as one of the best defenders in North Zone.[4]
Coaching career
editCurrently Sajid is considered among top talented coach of a country with high potential. He began his coaching career in 2004 after completing his Diploma in Football from NSNIS Patiala. Soon after he was appointed as Football Coach in University of Kashmir. He was the Coach of JK U 21 Football Team. Soon after finishing his AFC A he was appointed as Assistant Coach of the preparation of India U19 side.[4] Sajid was also part of scouting team of AIFF in early days of his coaching career.
In 2012, Dar was appointed as Head Coach of U 14 National Football Team which participated in AFC Football Festival in Katmandu, Nepal and SAARC Football Championship in Tokyo Japan. He was appointed as head coach of the India U16 side bound for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup when they were part of the AIFF Elite Academy.[5]
In March 2015, Dar was selected to become the head coach of the India women's football team before their 2016 Summer Olympics qualifiers.[4] His first match in charge of the side came on 13 March 2015 against Sri Lanka. His India side came out as 4–0 winners but a defeat to Myanmar in the next match ended India's hope of Olympic qualification.[6]
2015: He was selected for the AFC instructors course in Malaysia by Asian football confederation and in the same year he attended ICC in Hennef, Germany conducted by the German Football Association in September .[7]
2016: Sajid won his first trophy as India head coach as he led the country to gold in the 2016 South Asian Games. He got remarkable victory over Nepal 4–0 in the final.[8]
2017: On 4 January, Sajid again emerged champion with India women's national team to clinch the 4th consecutive SAFF title. He also remained Head Coach of U 19 Indian Women's National Team in AFC Qualifier held at Vietnam.
April 2017: Sajid ended his tenure as chief coach at a good note with a 2–0 victory over Hongkong at Pyongyang, North Korea.
Sajid is also an AFC coach educator.
Statistics
editManagerial statistics
edit- As of 11 April 2017.
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
 India women
|
1 March 2015 | April 2017 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 53.33 | ||
| Total | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 53.33 | ||||
Honours
editManager
editIndia Women
- SAFF Women's Championship: 2016
- South Asian Games Gold medal: 2016
- Gold medal in U 17 Administrator Cup in 2013
- Winner of U 19 I League West Zone in 2013
- Awarded best coach of the year 2014 by J and K Govt
References
edit- ^ "Sajid Dar". hindustantimes.com.
- ^ "Sajid Yousuf Dar Earns AFC Pro License". Kashmir Observer. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ KO. "JKFA Chair Holds Meeting With AIFF Prez & GS". Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ^ a b c Hussain, Ashiq (3 December 2016). "Meet the Kashmiri who is coaching Indian women's soccer team". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ Ghoshal, Amoy (20 May 2014). "U-17 World Cup role for Kashmir's Sajid Dar". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Indian Women concede seven against Myanmar". The All India Football Federation. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ Kashmir Life (31 August 2015). "Kashmir's Lone International Football Coach gets Germany Call". Kashmir Life. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ^ "Jammu and Kashmir football coach Sajid Dar makes a mark at 12th South Asian Games". Times of India. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
