Stephen Constantine handed contract extension until end of 2019 AFC Asian Cup
After enjoying a win percentage of 60.71 percent as the head coach of the Indian football team, Stephen Constantine has been offered a contract extension by the AIFF until the end of 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Under his leadership, the team is on a 13 match unbeaten streak dating way back to March 2016.
Constantine accepted to coach the Indian football team for the second time in January 2015 and won the first game of his second stint as a head coach with a 2-0 scoreline against Nepal. He was given a 14-month extension in November of 2016 but was denied a pay hike back then due to the team's below-par performances in the World Cup Qualifiers.
Since then the team has enjoyed a good run of unbeaten games and also have completed the primary objectives of qualifying for the 2019 Asia Cup and consistently achieving a ranking of 15 in Asia.
“The members felt that the Indian Senior National Men’s team met the dual strategic objectives of AIFF by qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 as well as by consistently achieving a top 15 FIFA ranking amongst Asian countries in the recent past. Accordingly, there was no reason for the AIFF not to offer a contract to Stephen,” read a release from the AIFF Media Team.
The Indian team has enjoyed 60.71 win percentage during his current stint as the head coach. The team also achieved their best world ranking of 96, in almost two decades, under his guidance.