Sports

Meet the African coaches heading to Qatar World Cup

Published

3 years ago

April 1, 2022

The World Cup holding in Qatar in November will throw up an interesting history as there will be four African coaches leading their nations to the Mundial.

This will be a departure from past World Cups where African teams are often tutored by foreign coaches who are seen as superior to local coaches.

But in Qatar 2022, out of the five African countries that will fly the continent’s flag at the world soccer fiesta, four of them will be coached by homegrown gaffes.

Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia will represent the continent but apart from Morocco, the other four will have local coaches in their dugouts.

Cameroon

Not many gave former defender, Rigobert Song, a chance to lead Cameroon to the World Cup, especially after the Indomitable Lions lost 0-1 at home to Algeria in the first leg of the final qualifiers.

But the four times African champions pulled the chestnut out of the fire in the second leg in Blida by defeating their host 2-1.

Song who was only appointed after the AFCON im February, is one of only the third African players to have played in four FIFA World Cups (1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010), along with teammates Samuel Eto’o and Jacques Songo’o.

The 45 year-old led Cameroon to two Africa Cup of Nations triumph in 2000 and 2002 as captain of the squad.

Ghana

Though he was born in Germany to Ghanaian parents, Otto Addo is another local coach who will lead an African team to the Mundial.

The former Bramfelder SV, Hannover 96, Dortmund and Mainz 05 defender was appointed to take over the Black Stars after their disappointing outing at the 2022 AFCON where they were bundled out by debutant Comoros.

Addo set to work, assembling a bunch of hungry players led by Arsenal midfielder, Thomas Partey, and the team displayed such resilience by pipping the Super Eagles of Nigeria over to legs to pick the World Cup ticket.

The 46-year-old has thus become the first Ghanaian footballer to qualify for the World Cup both as a player and as a coach.

Senegal

Senegal coach and former midfield maestro, Aliou Cissé, no longer needs long introductions when it comes to African football.

After being in charge of the talented Senegalese team for over seven years, Cissé led the team to conquer Africa at the last AFCON in Cameroon in February, beating Egypt via penalties in the final.

The continental title was the first for the West African nation after many years of asking, including the pain of losing the 2019 final to a Ryad Mahrez inspired Algeria.

During his player days, Cissé was a midfield lynchpin for French clubs like PSG and Lille. He also played for English clubs Portsmouth and Birmingham in the premiership.

He captained Senegal to a famous 1-0 victory over France at the 1998 World Cup hosted by the European nation.

Tunisia

Tunisian coach, Jalel Kadri, has become the most popular man in his country after successfully leading the North African country to Qatar 2022.

The 50-year-old has a proven track record as his international managerial career has taken him to Saudi Arabia where he coached Ansar Al Madina club.

He also had a stint in Lebanon and was the head coach of Libya’s Al-Ahly Tripoli, before returning home to coach JS Kairouan in the Tunisian league, before he was appointed head coach of the Carthage Eagles.

Kadri is now tasked with leading the Eagles as far as possible at the World Cup in Qatar.

Related Topics:Featured FIFA Senegal World Cup

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Sports

FIFA Ranking: Nigeria ends 2024 as fifth best team in Africa

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Nigeria’s men’s football national team, the Super Eagles, ended the year 2024 as the fifth best team in Africa in the latest FIFA world ranking for the month of December.

According to the rankings published by the world football governing body, Nigeria remains unchanged from its previous position, despite having a challenging international break.

The FIFA rankings also reveal that Nigeria suffered a significant decline this year, dropping eight places to end 2024 ranked 44th globally.

The decline follows disappointing performances during the final AFCON qualifiers for 2025, where the Super Eagles struggled against the Benin Republic and Rwanda, resulting in a lack of wins.

However, some of the Super Eagles bitter rivals like South Africa’s Bafana Bafana experienced a resurgence, climbing three positions to finish the year ranked 57th in the world, showing a marked improvement in their recent form and successful matches during the qualifiers.

It was a woeful year for West African rivals Ghana who ended the year in 77th position, which highlights the challenges the Black Stars have encountered in the outgoing year in its bid to maintain its positions among Africa’s elite teams.

Meanwhile, the Moroccan national football team, the Atlas Lion, retained its 14th position in the in the world while still maintaining its number one spot in Africa, holding the first position for the third year in a row.

In the world ranking, Morocco is followed by Senegal on 17th position, Egypt, 33rd, Algeria 37th, Nigeria, 44th, Côte d’Ivoire, 46th, Cameroon, 49th, Mali, 51st, and Tunisia in the 52nd position.

Top 10 African teams in 2024

1. Morocco – (14th)

2. Senegal – (17th)

3. Egypt – (33rd)

4. Algeria – (37th)

5. Nigeria – (44th)

6. Côte d’Ivoire – (46th)

7. Cameroon – (49th)

8. Mali – (51st )

9. Tunisia – (52nd)

10. South Africa – (57th)

Sports

Nigeria’s Lookman, Zambia’s Banda big winners at 2024 CAF Award

Published

5 days ago

December 17, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Nigerian sensation, Ademola Lookman, has wrapped his footballing year with another win after being declared as the Men’s Footballer of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Lookman, who plays for Italian club side Atalanta, was the biggest winner at the star-studded 2024 CAF Awards in Marrakech following 12 months with Italian side Atalanta and the Nigerian Super Eagles. He follows in the footsteps of compatriot Victor Osimhen, who claimed the award in 2023.

This is the first time Nigeria has had consecutive men’s award winners since nearly thirty years, when Nwankwo Kanu (1996) and Victor Ikpeba (1997) were awarded.

Other top African achievers recognized for their exploits during the event include South Africa’s Ronwen Williams and Zambia’s Barbra Banda. Banda was instrumental in leading Orlando Pride to the NWSL Shield and Championship in the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season in the United States. She scored the game-winning goal in the final against Washington Spirit.

Other winners include Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie, who won Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second year in a row after another impressive season for French side Paris FC.

Sanaâ Mssoudy, a forward for AS FAR and Morocco, received the Women’s Interclub Player of the Year award after winning the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League Best Player title. Agile box-to-box midfielder, Lamine Camara of Senegal and Monaco, won the Men’s Young Player of the Year award for his outstanding performances for both club and country.

Doha El Madani, a 19-year-old Moroccan and AS FAR player, won the Women’s Young Player of the Year award after scoring six goals in five games to win the Golden Boot at the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League.

See the full winners list below:

2024 CAF AWARDS WINNERS

CAF PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria / Atalanta)

CAF PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Barbra Banda (Zambia / Orlando Pride)

CAF GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)

CAF GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria / Paris FC)

CAF INTERCLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)

CAF INTERCLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Sanaâ Mssoudy (Morocco / AS FAR)

CAF YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Lamine Camara (Senegal / AS Monaco)

CAF YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Doha El Madani (Morocco / AS FAR)

CAF COACH OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Emerse Fae (Cote d’Ivoire)

CAF COACH OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Lamia Boumehdi (TP Mazembe)