24 coaches will leading their teams to the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast with the aim of winning the title for their respective countries.
Only three out of the 24 coaches have won the AFCON tittle.
Hugo Broos who will be leading South Africa to the tournament won the title with Cameroon in 2017.
Algerian coach, Djamel Belmadi won it in 2019 with his country, Algeria.
The defending champion, Aliou Cisse won the title for Senegal in 2021.
As a testament to the growth of home-based coaches in Africa, 13 out of 24 coaches leading their teams to the Ivory Coast are local coaches with 11 foreign coaches.
France has the highest number of foreign coaches (4) heading to AFCON 2023.
They include Jean Lois Gasset for Ivory Coast, Hubert Valud for Burkina Faso, Amir Abdou for Mauritania, and Sebastien Desabre for Democratic Republic of Congo.
Three coaches from Portugal will be leading their respected team’s to AFCON 2023. They are Jose Peseiro for Nigeria, Pedro Goncalves for Angola, and Rui Costa for Egypt.
Belgium has two representatives; Tom Sainfeit for Gambia and Hugo Broos for South Africa.
Irish coach Chris Hughton who will be leading Ghana and Israeli manager, Avram Grant will lead Zambia complete the foreign-based coaches list.
Cape Verde: Pedro-Leitao-Brito
The 54-year-old former National hero was the assistant coach of the national team between 2007-2013. He then moved on to local clubs. Pedro became assistant coach again in 2017. Leitao was appointed coach in 2020, a position he has held ever since. He qualified his team for the AFCON 2021. The former international will therefore be playing in his 2nd consecutive AFCON.
Cape Verde share Group B with Mozambique, Egypt and Ghana.
Egypt: Rui Vitória
Egypt coach Rui Vitória is a former Portuguese footballer who played in the lower divisions. The 53-year-old has coached clubs in the Portuguese elite: Pacos de Ferreira, Vitoria Guimaraes, and Benfica from (2015 to 2019) among other experiences. He won 3 championships with the Lisbon club. Al Nassr and Spartak Moscow are also on his coaching CV. He has been at the helm of Egypt since 2022. He is about to discover the CAN.
Egypt are in Group B alongside Ghana, Cape Verde and Mozambique.
Mozambique: Chiquinho Conde
The 58-year-old former player who played for Portugal for many years.He played 43 games for the national team, scoring 12 goals.
He also took part in 3 African Cup of Nations tournaments with the Nzalang (1986, 1996 and 1998). After retiring in 2005 at the age of 40, he immediately began coaching teams in the Mozambican championship.
In 2021, he was entrusted with the future of transforming the Mozambican soccer into an elite football nation. This will be his first AFCON coaching experience.
Mozambique are in Group B alongside Ghana, Cape Verde and Egypt.
Namibia: Collin Benjamin
The former Namibian football team defender played between 1999 – 2012. He featured in AFCON 2008 held in Ghana and made a total of 32 caps all competitions scoring 2 goals for his national team.
He was was appointed as an assistant coach for Namibia from 2018-2022, he was confirmed as the head coach in 2022 and guided Namibia to qualify to the AFCON 2023 from a group of Cameroon, Kenya and Burundi.
Namibia will take on Tunisia, South Africa and Mali in the Group E.
Guinea-Bissau: Baciro Candé
The 56-year-old is a former international who played as a defender. He coached Djurtus from 2001 to 2009.He then coached Sporting Club de Bissau, before taking over the reins of the national team in 2016. The technician qualified Guinea for their 4 consecutive AFCON. Unfortunately, he never got beyond the group stage.
Mauritania: Amir Abdou
Amir Abdou, current coach of Les Mourabitounes, is Franco-Mauritanian. In addition to his early career in the domestic divisions in France, the 51-year-old technician’s notable achievements include an appointment to head the Comorian national team in 2015, which he will not leave until 2022.
He took the team to the next level, qualifying them for the 2021 CAF Africa Cup of Nations by the end of their 3rd African Zone qualifying campaign and beat Ghana in the last group game, before they were eliminated in the Round of 8.
Between 2020 and 2022, Amir Abdou was also head coach of Mauritanian club FC Nouadhibou. In March 2022, he was appointed coach of Mauritania, qualifying them for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations and confirming his coaching and managerial skills.
Nigeria: Jose Peseiro
José Peseiro was also Carlos Queiroz’s assistant at Real Madrid. The coach has been on the circuit since 1992, which speaks volumes for the experience he has accumulated.
The 63 year old was appointed by the NFF on December 29, 2021 but he is not unanimously acclaimed in Nigerians after he failed to qualify Nigeria for the World Cup, losing out to Ghana in the final qualifier. In fact, he’s a hotly disputed figure.
Nigeria will take on host nation (Ivory Coast), Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau in the Group A.
Tunisia: Jalel Kadri
The 52-year-old coach had countless experiences on the benches of Tunisian clubs. He has coached EGS Gafsa, CA Bizertin, Stade Tunisien, Al-Ahli Tripoli in Libya and Emrates Club in UAE. He has also coached the Tunisian U20s.
Jalel Kadri has been coach of Tunisia since January 30, 2022. Before that, he was assistant to his predecessor, Mondher Kebaier. He was the assistant coach at the AFCON 2021, where he replaced the coach who was hit by the Covid in the 8th round win over Nigeria.
After being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the AFCON , he was chosen to act as interim coach. He qualified Tunisia for the World Cup, where they were eliminated in the 1st round. After the tournament, he was awarded with a contract that runs until 2024.
Tanzania: Adel Amrouche
Tanzania coach Adil Amrouche is a 55-year-old former international. He was appointed in March 2023.His record in the AFCON qualifiers was 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat, leading Tanzania to the forthcoming AFCON . As a coach, he has led Burundi, Kenya, Libya, Botswana and Yemen.
He has also held positions as technical director of FCA Brussels, RU St Gilloise; manager of DC Motemba PB (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, FC Volyn Loutsk (Ukraine).
Tanzania will be taking on DR Congo, Zambia and Morocco in Group F.
Equatorial Guinea: Juan Micha
The 48 year old former striker who played for the Equatorial Guinean national team at senior level in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
After completing his playing career, Micha became a coach in Madrid (Spain).In 2015, Micha was appointed coach of his country’s Under-17 national team.
In October 2020, he was chosen by the FEGUIFUT president to coach the national team for the official matches against Libya in November.
In March 2021, he officially signed a one-year contract to become the first-choice coach. Two days later, he won against Tanzania, qualifying his country for the AFCON 2021, where he later reached the quarter-finals, only to be eliminated by Senegal (3-1).
He renewed his contract until 2024, qualifying his country for the second consecutive time for the African soccer feast. As coach, he holds the record for most wins. He has coached 16 matches, winning 13, losing 3 and drawing 4.
Equatorial Guinea Group A with Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau and Nigeria.
Ghana: Chris Hughton
Chris Hughton was the former Brighton & Holve Albion. He has been on the circuit since 1997, which speaks volumes for the experience he has accumulated.
The 65 year old was appointed by the GFA as a technical advisor in February 2022 to assist former head coach Otto Addo in building a squad that can compete at the World Cup which we failed to achieve by being eliminated in the Group stages.
But on 12th February,2023 he was made the coach of the National Team after Otto Addo resigned as the head coach. Hughton have had a roller coaster time as the head coach but remain focus to achieve his goal of winning the much awaited Afcon trophy which has been a drought for almost 43 years in Ghana.
Ghana will be playing Equatorial Guinea, Egypt and Cape Verde
Senegal: Rigobert Song
The former Namibian football team defender played between 1993-2010. He featured in 6 AFCON and holds the most caped player with 36 games. He also played for Liverpool, West Ham United in England, and others.
He was was appointed as the caretaker coach for Cameroon from 2017-2018, he was confirmed as the head coach of the U23 from 2018-2022 before later being appointed as the head coach of the National Team in 2022 and eventually winning the AFCON in 2021.
Senegal will take on Cameroon, Gambia and Guinea in the Group E.
Dr Congo: Sebastien Desabre
The 47-year-old is a French professional football. He has been in the coaching circle especially in Africa from 2006 till date. He has coached several teams in Africa both Club and National Teams.
His experience in African football has been know from coaching ASEC Mimosas, Coton Sport, Wyadad AC and others.
Dr Congo will take on Zambia, Morocco and Tanzania in Group F.
Guinea: Kaba Diawara
The 48-year-old is a former Guinea international striker. He played for the National Team from 2004-2009 with 21 cap and scoring 8. He was appointed as the new Head coach in 2021 and eventually qualified the team to AFCON 2023.
Guinea Conakry will take on Senegal, Cameroon and Gambia in Group C.
Mali:Eric Sekou Chelle
Eric Chelle, 46 years, is a professional football manager and a former player who played as a centre-back. He is the manager of Mali. Born in Ivory Coast, he made five appearances for the Mali national team.
Chelle started his career as an assistant coach in France with GS Consolat from 2014-2016 before being given the permanent head coach job in 2016.
He was appointed as the Malian National Team coach 2022 and eventually qualifying them to AFCON 2023.
Morocco: Waled Regragui
Walid Regragui 48 years, sometimes known as Hoalid Regragui, is a Moroccan professional football manager and former player who played as a right-back. He was born in France but played for his ancestral country, Morocco from 2001-2009.
He was appointed the head coach of the Morocco national team in 2022 after qualifying to the world. He made history when he led the team to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2022, the first African nation to do so.
Waled will be looking forward to replicate what he did in the world at the AFCON 2023 in Ivory Coast.
Morocco will be playing Tanzania, DR Congo and Zambia in Group F.
Algeria: Djamal Belmadi
Djamel Belmadi, 47 years, is a professional football coach and former player of the Algerian national team. Born in France, he represented Algeria internationally between 2000 and 2004.
He has a ton of experience in coaching from Qatar to Algeria.
He was appointed in 2019 and led the Algerian team that won the AFCON 2019 in Egypt.
Algeria will take on Angola, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania in Group D.
South Africa: Hugo Broos
The 70 years-old manager was a former winner with Cameroon in 2017 and hope to repeat that with the blend of young and experience South African team.
He has a lot of experience as a coach. He started his managerial career in 1988 coaching clubs like Club Brugge, Anderlecht, Genk among others.
South Africa will be taking on Mali, Namibia and Tunisia in Group E.
Ivory Coast: Jean-Louis Gasse
Jean-Louis Gasset was the assistant of Lauren Blanc at PSG from 2013-2016. The coach has been on the circuit since 1985, which speaks volumes for the experience he has accumulated.
The 70 year old was appointed by the Ivorian Football Association in 2022. With his vast experience in coaching, he will be a force to playing against with such an experience.
He has coached clubs like Espanyol, Saint Etienne, Bordeaux among others in Europe.
The host nation (Ivory Coast) will take on Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau in the Group A.
Zambia: Avraham Grant
Avraham Grant is an Israeli professional football manager. He has spent the majority of his career coaching and managing in Israel, winning a number of national league and cup victories with different teams, and also managing the Israel national team for four years.
The 68 year-old manager has managed teams like Chelsea, West Ham United and others.
He took Ghana to the 2015 AFCON finals but was denied by winners Ivory Coast on a penalty shot out.
He was appointed as National Team coach of Zambia in 2022.
Zambia takes on Dr Congo, Tanzania and Morocco in Group F.
Angola: Pedro Gonçalves
The 47-year-old Portuguese has had experience in his homeland as a youth coach, notably with Sporting Portugal, where he was in charge of the academy. It was at youth level that he was first entrusted with responsibilities in Angola.
There, he managed the Primera d’Agosto Under-15 and Under-17 teams. In 2018, he was elected national coach of Angola’s Under-17s. Goncalves qualified them for the World Cup in the category. He also coached the U20s and U23s before being rewarded with the senior national team in 2019. Pedro also holds the reins of the local national team, which he led to the previous CHAN.
He has qualified the team for the AFCON 2023, a competition he will be discovering.
