Former India coach Stephen Constantine believes Indian football is in ‘free-fall’ and has called for sweeping structural reforms, saying the national team must first dominate South Asia before dreaming of a FIFA World Cup qualification.
In an interview with PTI from Rwanda, where he is currently the national team coach, Constantine expressed disappointment at being overlooked for a third stint with India and questioned the direction the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has taken in recent years.
“I should have been in India, but I’m not. When you give seven years of your life to the national team, I have a personal interest, of course,” Constantine said.
The Englishman, who guided India to their highest FIFA ranking in over two decades during his second spell, said the country’s problems extend far beyond the senior team and require long-term planning.
“There are a lot of things wrong. You can’t allow senior players to decide what happens in the national team. You have to have a proper league. You have to have promotion and relegation. There needs to be youth development. We need to have Indian coaches developing,” he said.
Constantine also criticised the AIFF for failing to maintain stability after its agreement with the Indian Super League came to an end.
“You have an agreement with ISL that has ended. But you should have done a lot more to continue that relationship and make things right,” he added.
CONSTANTINE APPLIED FOR INDIA ROLE
The 63-year-old was among the candidates considered for the India job before the AIFF appointed Khalid Jamil as the country’s first full-time Indian head coach in over a decade.
While insisting he had no issue with an Indian coach taking charge, Constantine questioned the decision to hand Jamil the senior role without prior experience in international football.
“I was shortlisted for the Indian job this time. They put Khalid Jamil. Fair enough. But Khalid Jamil has zero experience at international football,” Constantine said.
“If you want an Indian coach, then develop him. Put him with the Under-23s or Under-20s first, and then make him the national team coach. You can’t put somebody with no international experience straight into the senior job.”
Constantine remains one of India’s most successful modern-day coaches. During his second stint between 2015 and 2019, he led India to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, won the 2016 SAFF Championship and the 2018 Intercontinental Cup, while lifting the team’s FIFA ranking from 171 to 96 in July 2017.
His first spell between 2002 and 2005 also yielded the LG Cup title in Vietnam.
INDIA MUST DOMINATE THEIR REGION FIRST
The former India coach also dismissed talk of the World Cup, saying the national team’s immediate priorities should be far more realistic.
“When I came to India the second time, Mr Praful Patel asked me how India could qualify for the World Cup. I said we were not even dominating the SAFF region. How are we going to qualify for the World Cup?”
“At the moment Indian football is in free-fall. Qualifying for the World Cup is not on the cards. First you’ve got to qualify for the Asian Cup on a regular basis. You’ve got to dominate the SAFF region. If you’re not doing those two things, you’re not going to the World Cup even if they put 100 teams in it.”
Constantine also questioned India’s decision to schedule friendlies against New Zealand later this year, arguing that the team would benefit more from facing stronger Asian opposition.
“You’re not going to face New Zealand in the Asian Cup, SAFF Championship or World Cup qualifiers. If you want meaningful experience, play Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Japan or China. It’s nice to play New Zealand, but from a football perspective, it doesn’t make much sense to me,” he concluded.
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