Coaches Cont'd
According to Philippe Troussier, the French coach nicknamed “le Sorcier Blanc,” or the White Witch Doctor, who explains in Ian Hawkey’s book “Feet of the Chameleon” The history of African soccer; “issues with tribal connotation cannot have a play when an expatriate is hired”.
“The foreign coach can be presented as a neutral man, who doesn’t have a favorite tribe or region,” Troussier said.
Though there might be a huge appetite for recruiting foreign coaches on the on the African continent there is an interesting aspect in the archives of global soccer in terms of their impact.
Records show that since the inception of the FIFA World Cup Soccer competition; in all 19 World Cup competitions played thus far, all have all been won by teams with indigenous coaches.
In the African Nations Cup, out of the 29 competitions so far, the imported coaches have led African teams to only thirteen titles while the locals had have had the remaining share of sixteen.
Egypt has registered a more illustrious success in the Afcon history. It has won the trophy seven times, mainly with local coaches at the helm.
Egyptian coach, Hassan Shehata is the most successful coach having registered three successive victories (2006, 2008 and 2010) when he was in charge of the Pharaohs.
Former AC Milan and Liberia forward George Weah has appealed to Football Associations on the continent to change their mindsets in order for Africans to succeed in coaching roles.
“We have to believe in ourselves, believe in our people. Give them the support to be trained and to develop our teams,” said Weah.
He proposed to the media that the continental soccer governing body Confederation of African Football (CAF) needs to do more by establishing institutions that will train coaches.
“The CAF needs to wake up; we need an institution for coaching in Africa. Our people don’t need to go to Europe, they need to stay in Africa and train,” said the former Lone Star marksman.
to heal and save his nation. Sports is a catalyst and a vehicle for social mobilization and development for many impoverished communities across the continent.
We will continue to emphasize the elevation of sports to its rightful place on the African continent and its use as a vehicle for social mobilization and development in many impoverished communities across the continent.
We will work arduously to associate Mandela’s name and legacy as a force for good within the African sports family.
May His Soul Rest in absolute Peace and may his legacy live on to inspire future generations to make a difference in their communities and countries. (End)
In our March Issue we bring you an exclusive interview with CAF's Secretary General Hicham El Amarani