Stephen Constantine has been offered a contract extension, subject to approval. (Source: Express Archive)
Despite reports of discord between the players and the Indian national team coach Stephen Constatine, the English-Cypriot has been offered a contract extension. AIFF Technical Committee has offered to extend his contract until 2019 Asia Cup, it was observed in the meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday. However, it is now up to the AIFF Executive Committee to give its approval and for Constantine to accept the contract.
“The AIFF Technical Committee chaired by Mr. Shyam Thapa held today (February 07, 2018) in Mumbai, unanimously agreed to offer an extension of contract to Stephen Constantine based on his performance till the end of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019,” said AIFF in a statement.
“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. The recommendation of the Technical Committee as above shall be forwarded to the AIFF Executive Committee for their final approval,” it went on to add.
As Indian Express reported, the only bone of contention between Constantine and AIFF had been the demand for salary hike. Constantine earns $20,000 a month to be the most expensive foreign coach in the country. He was also fielding offers from elsewhere while pushing the AIFF to revise his salary. He has been the India coach since January 2015 – his second spell and earned a 14-month extension in November 2016. On the pitch, India have remained unbeaten in 13 matches, a run that includes 11 wins and two draws. Off the pitch, this incredible run has been rewarded by the FIFA rankings. When he took over, India were languishing in the 170’s and breached the top-100 mark last year and currently sits at World No 102.