The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be historic for the African continent as the five nations that have booked a ticket to the quadrennial extravaganza will be managed by local coaches.
Morocco have appointed Walid Regragui as head coach of the Atlas Lions and now he will join a stellar cast of four other African coaches to lead their country. This is a big step for the growth of African coaches, who now have the courage to take over at the highest level.
Walid Regragui, Morocco
Aged 47, a former Moroccan international who amassed 45 caps for the national team was recently appointed by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) as coach of the Atlas Lions, succeeding Vahid Halilhodžić who helped the team qualify.
He returns to the national team after a successful season in Morocco’s top flight where he led Wydad Athletic Club to the CAF Champions League title and the local championship as well.
For the World Cup, Morocco have been drawn in Group F and will face Croatia, Belgium and Canada.
Aliou Cisse, Senegal
Reigning African champions Senegal have had a local coach since 2015 when Aliou Cissé took over. The decision paid off eight years later when the former national team captain led them to their first ever Africa Cup of Nations title and was also named Coach of the Year at the CAF Awards in July.
He will lead the Teranga Lions to a World Cup for the second consecutive time, having led them to qualification for the 2018 showpiece in Russia.
The Senegalese qualified after a defeat in the first leg against the Egyptian Pharaohs, then coached by Portuguese tactician Carlos Queiroz. They won 3-1 on post-match penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Rigobert Song, Cameroon
Appointed on February 28, 2022, Rigobert Song makes history as the second Cameroonian coach to help the Indomitable Lions qualify for the world showpiece.
The first Cameroonian to lead the team to the World Cup was the late Leonard Nseke, leading the team to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
Song’s Cameroon qualified for Qatar after overturning a 1-0 first-leg loss to Algeria to win 2-1 in the corresponding game in Algiers and qualify on the goal rule at home. ‘outside. Karl Toko Ekambi scored the vital stoppage-time goal to take the Lions to Qatar.
Qualifying for the World Cup proved to be the result he needed to silence the doubters who had previously questioned the decision to sign him.
Jalel Kadri, Tunisia
Local boy Jalel Kadri helped Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles win the World Cup for the sixth time in their history.
Kadri was appointed as the head coach of the Tunisian national team right after their elimination from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon by Burkina Faso. He embarked on a mission of rapid reconstruction and helped Tunisia recover from this disappointment and qualify for the World Cup.
The Tunisians left the young Mali team to qualify with a thin aggregate score of 1-0.
He becomes the third local tactician to help Tunisia qualify for the World Cup after Abdelmajid Chetali (1978) and Nabil Maâloul (1998).
Otto Addo, Ghana
Ghanaian Otto Addo showed courage as a coach to help the Black Stars to the World Cup after their win over highly rated Nigeria.
The former international was appointed head coach of the Ghana team shortly after their elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations in the group stage, succeeding Milovan Rajevac.
A 1-1 draw in Abuja after a 0-0 home draw in Kumasi earned Ghana a ticket to the World Cup against all odds.
The tactician, who is also an assistant coach of German Bundesliga club Dortmund, has managed to put together a perfect tactical plan to upstage a hugely talented Nigerian team and now has everything to prove when he leads the Ghanaian team in Qatar.
The presence of the five African coaches at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar represents a giant step towards the development of African football.
This is proof enough that local expertise can work just as well when and if given the opportunity. It will be an opportunity for the whole world to discover the ability of African tacticians and also a nod of approval to the training program for African coaches at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Pro License.
The program launched for the first time in 2018 aims to obtain the highest certification of the CAF coach education system, the qualification of top coaches in the world.
The said license is strictly reserved for coaches actively practicing at a professional level, having demonstrated a certain level of performance and achievement, and having previously acquired a CAF A license or an equivalent qualification recognized by CAF.
More and more African coaches have shown enthusiasm at work both in CAF competitions with first division clubs or in the league, as well as in national teams.
Source: CAFOnline