Owen Coyle ISL 2025/26 Jamshedpur FC

Last Updated:January 24, 2026, 16:00 IST

The 59-year-old, who led the Men Of Steel to the ISL League shield in the 2021/22 campaign, will join the unit in a two-year deal alongside assistant coach Sandy Stewart.

Owen Coyle. (X)

Scottish manager Owen Coyle returned to Jamshedpur FC ahead of the 2025/26 season of the Indian Super League, the club confirmed on Saturday.

The 59-year-old, who led the Men Of Steel to the ISL League shield in the 2021/22 campaign, will join the unit in a two-year deal alongside his assistant coach Sandy Stewart.

“The wait is over. Owen is back to strike the winning blow," the club said.

The top-flight competition of Indian football is scheduled to begin on the 14th of February after prolonged drama, after all 14 sides confirmed their participation.

The impasse was a result of the expiration of the Master’s Rights Agreement between the All India Football Federation and the Football Sports Development Limited following the conclusion of their 15-year agreement.

The contract originally signed between AIFF and FSDL back in the year 2010 was set to run up until 2025 and the AIFF initiated negotiations over the renewal of the same back in November 2024.

As the future of the league laid in the balance, players, owners and stakeholders from across the board made their concerns known, with players including the likes of Indian icons Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jinghan and Gurpreet Singh issuing a pleas to the powers that be to help get the sport in the nation out of dire straights.

On the 1st of January 2026, as the calendar reset, the deadline for clubs to confirm their participation in the modified season was bellowed, but, a couple of days later, on the 3rd of January 2026, the AIFF confirmed that it would conduct the league directly under its aegis.

And to bring the curtains down on a forlorn saga in the annals of the sport in the nation, on the 6th of January 2026, the honourable Sports Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, announced that the 2025-26 season of the ISL would commence on the 14th of February 2026, featuring 14 clubs in a single-leg format, in a true Valentine’s day delight for Indian football fans.

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