Con Constantine - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Con Constantine is a Cypriot

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

-Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n businessman and the former owner of the Australia

Australia

n football (soccer)

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

club Newcastle United Jets

Newcastle United Jets

Newcastle United Jets Football Club is a professional football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The club competes in the A-League and plays its home games at Ausgrid Stadium . The Jets have won one A-League championship, defeating arch rivals the 1–0 in the 2007–08 Grand Final...

Early life

Con Constantine migrated to Australia with his parents and siblings from the town of Maroni, near Larnaka, Cyprus

Cyprus

at the age of 10. At a young age, he started working in a takeaway food store before going on to sell houseplant

Houseplant

A houseplant is a plant that is grown indoors in places such as residences and offices. Houseplants are commonly grown for decorative purposes, positive psychological effects, or health reasons such as indoor air purification...

s.

In 1985 he built Parklea

Parklea, New South Wales

Parklea is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 40 kilometers north-west of the Sydney CBD and is a part of Greater Western Sydney...

Markets

Flea market

A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...

(on the site of a former drive-in cinema), initially operating it as a plant nursery while seeking council approval. After approval was granted, Parklea Markets quickly established itself as one of the premier retail destinations in Western Sydney

Greater Western Sydney

Greater Western Sydney is a term used to describe the western region of the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. The University of Western Sydney defines Greater Western Sydney as comprising 14 local government areas...

.

In recent years, Constantine has expanded his interests to Newcastle

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

, 150 km north of Sydney, where he is the owner of The Store. He recently purchased two Newcastle community papers, the Newcastle & Lake Macquarie Post and the Hunter Post, from Fairfax Media

Fairfax Media

Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...

. Constantine is a supporter of his local Blacktown

Blacktown, New South Wales

Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of City of Blacktown.Blacktown is the largest...

Greek Orthodox

Greek Orthodox Church

The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...

parish as well as many legitimate Sydney and Newcastle charities.

Newcastle United Jets

Constantine was the owner and chairman of Newcastle United Jets

Newcastle United Jets

, an Australian professional football (soccer) club based in Newcastle

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

. The club competes in the A-League

A-League

The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

and plays its home games at Ausgrid Stadium. They were the A-League

A-League

Champions for the 2007-08 A-League season, after defeating the 1-0 in the Grand Final. The club was formed in 2000 when it joined the National Soccer League as Newcastle United.

Constantine replaced Jets' manager Richard Money with an Australian, Nick Theodorakopoulos

Nick Theodorakopoulos

Nick Theodorakopoulos is a football coach from Australia.-Managerial career:He previously coached in the predecessor to the A-League, the NSL with now-defunct Parramatta Power....

, for the 2006/2007 A-League

A-League

season. Theodorakopoulos was sacked as manager after a lacklustre start to the season. The new coach was Gary van Egmond

Gary van Egmond

Gary van Egmond is an Australian football manager of Dutch heritage who is currently the manager of Newcastle Jets in the A-League.-Playing career:Van Egmond began his playing career with APIA Leichhardt in 1982...

with support from assistant coach Mark Jones. For the 2009-10 season, former Sydney FC coach Branko Culina

Branko Culina

Branko Čulina is a football coach and former player. He is currently without a club after being sacked by Newcastle Jets.-Club career:...

was appointed head coach after Gary van Egmond's shock departure.

Constantine chose to bring in controversial striker Mario Jardel

Mário Jardel

Mário Jardel de Almeida Ribeiro is a former Brazilian professional footballer.Jardel was most noted for his positioning on the field and "being at the right place, at the right time"...

to Newcastle. The Brazilian legend had a successful career, but was out of shape and out of form by the time he arrived at the Jets. Constantine has invested over $15 million dollars into the Newcastle Jets.

After an unsuccessful 2008/2009 season, a group of Newcastle supporters staged a small protest by hanging all their banners upside down. Constantine invited the leaders of the group to his corporate box and allegedly threatened them. The incident was investigated by the Football Federation Australia

Football Federation Australia

Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...

.

On the 22nd of September 2010, Con was stripped of his licence of the Newcastle Jets. The team was taken over on a short-term basis by local businessman Nathan Tinkler

Nathan Tinkler

Nathan Tinkler is a mining magnate and businessman from the Hunter Region, New South Wales, Australia.-Biography:Tinkler was an electrician in a coal mine before starting his own business. His big break came in 2006 when he borrowed $500,000 to buy a mine. He sold his company to Macarthur Coal...

. Constantine made a tearful farewell press conference and accused the FFA of backstabbing him.

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