Results
Not all foreign coaches at the Africa
Cup of Nations make good results and not
all the local coaches finish as flops.
Four of the last five tournaments
were won by teams managed by Africans.
Hassan Shehata took Egypt to three
successive titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010
while former Nigeria international Stephen
Keshi won it with the Super Eagles in
South Africa in 2013.
Ivory Coast, which have produced
some of the continent’s best national
squads, have employed dozens of foreign
coaches since they first entered the
competition in 1965 but their only title till
date was won by an Ivorian coach Yeo
Martial at the Senegal 92 AFCON.
According to Nigeria’s Keshi, there
are many retired African footballers who
hold UEFA A Licence and UEFA B
Licence, and even UEFA Pro Licence,
which are same qualifications tendered by
foreign coaches.
“They are not given jobs because
Africa’s FAs don’t trust their competence
and experience. This is detrimental to our
football,” Keshi said in an interview with the
BBC.
Where else would these qualified and
potential coaches go to for jobs if they are
being denied access in their homelands?
They would never be paid attention to in
Europe or elsewhere outside Africa.
Eternal Assistants
What is common is seeing an African
voiceless coach assisting a foreigner on the
bench. He mostly makes the substitutions
during matches and pampers injured
players during training sessions.
Former Egyptian National Football Coach;
Hassan Shehata (R – in photo) Receiving an
award from FIFA President, Sepp Blatter
Perhaps he could be learning from his
white boss, hoping to step into his shoes in the
near future. However, when things go wrong or
when the big boss quits for greener pastures,
the FA chiefs turn their back on the
hardworking and expectant assistant and
launch application call for a new coach, most
likely to be another expatriate.
Giving a coaching job to an African
manager is seen by the FA people as doing
him a favour, according to Amara Traore,
former Senegal coach.
“The FA officials don’t really want you
there but they are being forced to give you that
job due to pressure from perhaps an
independent technical committee that vetted
the candidates. Thereafter, they become
faultfinders in search of the slightest blunder to
kick you out,” Traore tells African Sports
Monthly.
Even while an African assistant is held as
a caretaker, his bosses never relent on the
AFCON Special Edition
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