Five African teams — Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia — will participate in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The 2022 World Cup will be significant for Africa because all five teams will be coached by their national coaches.
Until year 2014, only 10 of the 38 African teams that competed in the World Cup were coached by natives, and three teams that get into the quarter-finals (Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010) were coached by Europeans. Many qualified African candidates have been passed over for opportunities because African nations have long relied heavily on foreign, white, and Western coaches. The World Cup was hailed as a turning point by many people. What does this mean for African players, fans, and teams competing in the World Cup? Will this give African coaches more opportunities?
The presence of five African coaches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, according to the Confederation of African Football, represents a significant step forward in the development of African football. It is proof enough that if given the opportunity, the expertise of local coaches can be put to good use. More and more African coaches are demonstrating their enthusiasm for football, and this World Cup is an excellent opportunity to show the world what African coaches are capable of.
Profiles of five African coaches
Cameroon — Rigbet Song
Former professional football player Rigbet Song is now the men’s national football team of Cameroon’s head coach. Being only 46 years old, he is most likely one of the coaches with the least amount of experience.
The tenacious coach earned 137 caps in four World Cup appearances and rose to fame with the national youth team. At the age of 17, Rigbett participated in his first World Cup in the United States. He later participated in three additional World Cups in 1998, 2002, and 2010.
Rigbett, who won two African Cup of Nations titles, joined the club’s coaching staff immediately after retiring. Since then, he has moved into management. Rigbett led Cameroon to the World Cup for the first time as coach this year.
Senegal — Aliu Cisse
Cisse captained his team to qualify for top 8 of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. He is the first Senegal captain to lead his team to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations and the first Senegal coach to lead his team to won the match in 2022.
This was Cisse’s third appearance on the world stage, and his second as head coach. So far, Senegal was defeated by the Netherlands with the score of 0-2.
Senegal’s qualification chances were hampered by their defeat. Cisse stated: “We would have started the World Cup in the best possible way if we had won, but now we face a very difficult second game. However, this defeat will serve as motivation to improve our performance.”
Morocco — Walid Regregoui
The 47-year-old Leglaguey turned to management after spending the majority of his career in the top leagues of France and Spain in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
He assisted Rashid Taushi of Morocco as his coach in 2012. Now that the World Cup is underway, he will captain the team. In Group F, Morocco will compete against Croatia, Belgium, and Canada.
Ghana—Otto Addo
Addo, who was born in Hamburg, began playing football in the Hamburg league, and he played all of his football in Germany. He also triumphed in the German Cup. It can be said that he led the team by using the coaching thinking and coaching mode he learned in Germany to successfully complete the task of qualifying for the World Cup finals.
Addo, who has worked in a variety of technical capacities during training sessions for Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, joined Ghana in February of last year as an assistant coach.
After the Ghana Football Association fired former coach Rajevac in February 2022 over the team’s performance at the Africa Cup of Nations, Addo was named interim manager for the final stage of the Africa Zone qualifiers against Nigeria. Finally, Hodo led the team to the World Cup with success.
Tunisia—Jal Qadri
Since taking over from former coach Kebair in January, Tunisia’s 50-year-old assistant coach Jale Qadri has won all nine of his team’s games with the exception of one.
Despite not being particularly well-known, Qadri has managed teams in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.