Qatar 2022: All 5 African Coaches Unlocked

The upcoming Qatar 2022 World Cup will be historic for African teams. The five qualified African countries; Morocco, Senegal, Cameroon, Tunisia and Ghana will be led by natives from the aforementioned countries.

Unlike in 2018, that had two five African coaches who participated in the competition, this time, there’s a game changer with all five gaffer’s from their respective nations of origin.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) described the decision as “a massive step for the growth of African coaches, who have now had the courage to take over at the highest level”.

Walid Regragui (Morocco)

Born in Corbeil-Essonne in France, Regragui began his career as a professional footballer in the ranks of several French clubs, including Toulouse, Ajaccio, Dijon and Grenoble.

He began his coaching career in 2012, as assistant coach of Morocco. Weeks before being named head coach of the Atlas Lions, Regragui announced his departure from Morocco’s Wydad Athletic Club, which he coached for a season and won the prestigious CAF champions league, beating Al Ahly 2-0 in Casablanca. Regragui replaced Vahid Halilhodžić, who coached led Morocco to the last 8 of the AFCON, and qualified the team for Qatar. The 47-year-old will be looking to get Morocco pass their best World Cup performance, which was the round of 16 in 1986. The Atlas Lions are making their 6th appearance in the tournament finals.

Aliou Cisse (Senegal)

Former Senegalese footballer Aliou Cissé has been coaching the Senegal national team since 2015. Earlier this year, he managed the Teranga Lions to their first ever Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title after two failed attempts in the finals of 2002; (which he took part in, as a player, and 2019 when he was in the dugouts as coach). In July, Cissé, 46, was named Coach of the Year at the CAF Awards, which took place in Rabat, Morocco.

Aliou marshalled the Senegalese team to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where they missed out on the second round to Japan, due to the fair play rules.

It is going to be Senegal’s third world cup participation, and with the world’s second best player – Sadio Mane, Senegal and coach Aliou posses the most potent credentials of all 5 African representatives. Senegal is one of only three nations on the continent to reach the quarter final, a feat which was attained in 2002.

Rigobert Song (Cameroon)

Rigobert Song, who is a former skipper of the Indomitable Lions just like Aliou with the Teranga Lions, was appointed Lions’ head coach in February 2022.

As a manager, Song seeks redemption, after previously failing at two different categories in Cameroon; CHAN team, and the U23’s.

Following his hospitalisation for a brain aneurysm and subsequent recovery, Song resumed coaching duties in 2017, ahead of the qualification stage of the 2018 African Nations Championship. He led the team into the tournament, which saw Cameroon finish bottom
of their group after two losses and a draw.

On 17 October 2018, FECAFOOT announced that Song would take control of the Cameroon U-23 national football team for the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations campaign in Egypt, but the team still couldn’t make it pass the group stage.

Renowned for his defensive skills during his playing career, Song holds the record for the most capped player in the history of the Cameroon national team with a total of 137 appearances. The Lions qualification to Qatar meant they will be taking part in the global showpiece for a record extending 8th time, with the best performance being the quarter finals in 1990.

Jalel Kadri (Tunisia)

50 year old Jalel Kadri, is the most experienced of all five African coaches that will be present at the Qatar World Cup, with close to 20 years of coaching experience.

He was appointed Tunisia coach in January 2022, days after the Carthage Eagles were eliminated from the AFCON quarter-final against Burkina Faso.

Kadri has since then, managed to rebuild the Tunisian squad after the AFCON disappointment, leading the Carthage Eagles’ World Cup qualification for the sixth time in their history.

Otto Addo (Ghana)

As another former international footballer, Otto Addo was appointed manager of the Black Stars shortly after the Black Stars’ elimination from AFCON at the group stage.

In a complete overhaul of the coaching desk, Addo came in as head coach, while Chris Hughton was appointed technical director.

Addo, who will certainly keep his affiliations with Dortmund after the World Cup as earlier announced by the GFA, will look to make his short stint memorable.

The trainer helped Ghana through to their fourth World Cup participation after defeating familiar foes Nigeria (0-0, 1-1) on the away goal rule. Ghana is one of the 3 African nation’s to have previously qualified for the World Cup, back in 2010.