The best coach award in the I-league is named after "Syed Abdul Rahim". Syed Abdul Rahim was an Indian football coach and manager of the Indian national team from 1950 until his death in 1963 and a former player. He is regarded as the architect of modern Indian football. Basically a teacher by profession, he was a good motivator and his tenure as a coach is regarded as a "golden age" of football in India. He led the Indian team to the semi-finals of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Football tournament making India the first ever Asian country to achieve this place.
