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NEW DELHI, May 23 (Reuters) - Englishman Stephen Constantine is to take over as India's national soccer coach, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Thursday.

The 39-year-old former Nepal coach, who replaces Sukhwinder Singh, has been told to prepare a side for this year's Asian Games to be held in Pusan, South Korea, AIFF president Priyaranjan Dasmunshi told reporters. "He will be appointed from June 15 for the Asiad project," he said.

Singh, national coach for the last three years, would be offered the post of the team's technical director, he added.

India, twice former Asian Games champions, failed to reach the second round in the 1998 Bangkok Games and AIFF authorities hope a foreign coach can improve the side for the under-23 competition in Pusan.

The AIFF also decided to reduce the number of foreign players allowed in the national league from four to three from the next season to encourage domestic talent.