Jamal Khamis Taha (; born 23 November 1966) is a football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Lebanon national under-23 team. Born in Egypt, he played for the Lebanon national team between 1993 and 2000, and was their captain at the 2000 Asian Cup.
Jamal Taha was born in Cairo, Egypt, to an Egyptian father and a Lebanese mother; he obtained Lebanese citizenship through naturalization in 1992 via a presidential decree. Taha joined Ansar's youth team in 1977.
Nicknamed "the Brown Gazelle" (), Taha began his senior career with Ansar in 1986, where he ended his career in 2002. He wore the number 6 on his jersey, and was the club's captain from 1997 onwards.
Taha was the national team's captain during the 2000 AFC Asian Cup in Lebanon.
Taha started out as Adnan Hamad's assistant manager at Ansar during the 2005âÂÂ06 season; he helped his side win the domestic double (Lebanese Premier League and Lebanese FA Cup). The following season, in 2006âÂÂ07, Taha was appointed the first manager of Ansar, winning Ansar's second consecutive domestic double. He remained head coach until the end of the 2007âÂÂ08 season, where he lost the league title to Ahed by one point.
In July 2011, Taha was re-appointed manager of Ansar, staying there until the end of the 2012âÂÂ13 season. He won the 2011âÂÂ12 Lebanese FA Cup, and the 2012 Lebanese Super Cup.
On 10 September 2013, he took charge of Shabab Sahel; he won the Lebanese Challenge Cup in 2014. After two seasons he returned to Ansar, managing them during the 2015âÂÂ16 season, before resigning after the first league game of the following season in September 2016. In January 2017, Taha became manager of Tadamon Sour until June 2018.
On 3 June 2019, he was appointed assistant manager of the Lebanon national team under Liviu Ciobotariu's tenure. After one year, on 17 June 2020, the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) decided not to extend Ciobotariu's contract, and appointed Taha as the national team's coach. He became the first Lebanese coach of the national team in almost 12 years, since the appointment of Emile Rustom in November 2008.
Under Taha, Lebanon underperformed in their last three fixtures of the second round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, struggling to overcome Sri Lanka 3âÂÂ2, and losing against Turkmenistan and South Korea; Lebanon qualified Lebanon to the third round as fifth-best runner-up by virtue of other results going in their favour. Taha's tenure was not extended following the expiration of his one-year contract on 30 June 2021.
On 27 September 2021, Taha was announced as head coach of the Lebanon national under-23 team.
On 26 June 2022, Taha returned as head coach of Ansar.
In January 2025, Taha returned as head coach of the Lebanon national under-23 team. He led the team to their first AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification for the 2026 tournament, where Lebanon lost the first two games against Uzbekistan (3âÂÂ2) and South Korea (4âÂÂ2), and won against Iran (1âÂÂ0), Lebanon's first victory in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
On 22 July 2025, Taha was re-appointed head coach of Tadamon Sour.
Ansar
Individual
Ansar
Shabab Sahel