Stephen Constantine resigns as coach of the Indian Team after AFC Asian Cup exit

The Head Coach of the Indian National Football Team, Stephen Constantine, stepped down from his post after India’s exit from the AFC Asian Cup.

The current term (2015-2018) is Constantine’s second stint with the Indian football team coach having previously managed them between the years 2002-2005. Apart from India, Stephen has coached Nepal, Rwanda and Sudan in his 20-year professional coaching career.

Constantine has led India to the SAFF Championship title in 2016, the Intercontinental Cup in 2018 and secured qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup after a gap of eight years.

Under Constantine’s tutelage, India broke the sub-100 barrier in the FIFA World Rankings and are currently ranked 97th in the world.

In the final AFC Asian Cup 2019 group encounter last night, the Indian team needed only a point to qualify for the knockouts, but they lost to a stoppage time goal by Bahrain.

Stephen was expecting India to progress beyond the group stages, but it wasn’t to be and he felt it was the right time to move on after four years at the helm.