Sudeva Delhi manager Sankarlal Chakraborty receives AFC Pro Licence

He is the first Bengali to achieve this certificate.

Sudeva Delhi FC's head coach Sankarlal Chakraborty has received the AFC Pro diploma coaching qualification certificate, which is the highest level of coaching license in India, with effect from today. He becomes the first-ever coach from West Bengal to achieve this feat.

The AFC Pro Licence makes him eligible to become a head coach not only in the Indian Super League but also the foreign leagues, Khel Now understands.

India currently have less than 25 Pro Licence holders which include - Hilal Rasool Parray, Francisco Da Costa, Clifford Miranda, Robin Charles Raja, Bino George, Herring Shangpliang, Santosh Kashyap, Savio Medeira, Naushad Moosa, Syed Sabir Pasha, Mariano Dias, Henry Stanley Rozario, V Soundararajan, Khalid Jamil, Thangboi Singto, Derrick Pereira, etc.

About Sankarlal Chakraborty

Born on December 12, 1975, in Kolkata, West Bengal, Sankarlal Chakraborty had an exemplary playing career before he upgraded himself as a football coach. He's a TATA football academy graduate, where he perfected his game as a midfielder. He spent his senior career playing for two Kolkata giants - Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

He was forced to retire from the game after suffering a major injury during his playing days. Although he tried to register a comeback after recovering, he couldn’t deliver at his best. Chakraborty ended his playing career in the 2002-03 season while playing for East Bengal.

The rise of the manager

His career started at the IFA in 2012, where he was an assistant coach of the academy. Later in 2014, he was appointed as the assistant coach of Mohun Bagan. He spend the next three seasons learning and evolving under head coach Sanjoy Sen. He recorded a total of 83 games assisting him. After the departure of Sanjoy Sen during the 2017-18 season, Sankarlal Chakraborty was promoted to the head coach position at Mohun Bagan and led the side to a third-place finish.

In 2018, he won his first piece of silverware – the Calcutta Football League. Under him, Mohun Bagan emerged as an unbeaten champion in the tournament. Later he moved to Bhawanipore FC in the 2019-20 season, where he had a short tenure as a head coach.

He had his trade as a coach for another Kolkata giant - Mohammedan SC in the 2020-21 season. He primarily joined the club as a technical director, and later got appointed as the interim head coach in the middle of the campaign.

Sankarlal Chakraborty took charge as Sudeva Delhi FC's head coach after they parted ways with Japanese manager Atsushi Nakamura in the middle of the current I-League season. The tactician had an instant impact at Sudeva Delhi FC as they opened their account for the season with a 1-1 draw against Mohammedan SC in their last match before the winter break. Currently, his team sits last in the points table with two points from 11 matches.