Senegal Part Ways With Afcon-winning Coach Aliou Cisse

Senegal’s national football team coach, Aliou Cissé, who led the team to victory in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and guided them to the last two World Cup tournaments, has been relieved of his duties....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

The decision came on Wednesday following a request from the government, which urged the Senegalese Football Federation not to renew his contract.

Cissé, who was approaching a decade at the helm of the Teranga Lions, had achieved notable success, including reaching two AFCON finals and winning the tournament in 2022. He also led the team to the round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, despite being without their star forward, Sadio Mané, who missed the tournament due to injury.

The Senegalese Football Federation expressed its gratitude to Cissé in an official letter, acknowledging “his brilliant results” and contributions to the national team.

The former Paris Saint-Germain defender had been expected to hold a press conference on Friday to announce Senegal’s squad for the upcoming qualifying matches for the 2025 AFCON.

However, the sports ministry provided several reasons for not renewing Cissé’s contract, including his failure to meet recent tournament goals, the drop in Senegal’s FIFA ranking, and the risk of deteriorating relations between the team and the Senegalese public.

Senegal failed to defend their African title this year, losing in the round of 16 to host nation Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout. Ivory Coast later went on to win the AFCON title. Senegal’s current FIFA ranking stands at No. 21, a slight dip from their record high earlier this year, when they were ranked 17th globally.

It remains unclear whether the government’s involvement in the decision to part ways with Cissé could conflict with FIFA’s regulations, which prohibit government interference in the management of football federations…CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES>>>