The French Football Federation (FFF) has rejected a request from the Ivorian Football Federation to allow Hervé Renard to handle the national team until the end of the AFCON 2023 tournament.
The Ivorian Football Federation had requested for Renard who is in charge of the French senior women’s national team to take charge of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) host till the end of the tournament.
This comes after the Elephants’ dismal performance in the tournament’s group stage, as they only managed three points, which prevented them from making it to the Round of 16 straight.
They had to wait for Morocco to defeat Zambia to guarantee a spot in the round of 16 via the best third placed result.
Following Jean Louis Gasset’s contract termination, Emerse Fae assumed interim leadership.
Since then, the Ivorian Football Federation has desperately been trying to find a top-tier coach in an effort to improve the team’s dismal performance thus far.
Renard who had won the 2015 AFCON with the Elephants was seen as the best fit for the short role but his superiors have not granted him leave.
Fae is anticipated to take over for the remainder of the AFCON 2023 matches as the host gets ready to play Senegal in the Round of 16.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, January 25, 2024, at the Lycée Technique de Cocody, Coach Emerse Fae and his players rehearsed in anticipation of the Senegal vs. Ivory Coast encounter.
The team’s goal is to move past its 4-0 setback to Equatorial Guinea and defeat Senegal in the elimination round.