With the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup fast approaching, African countries have intensified their preparations for the global football showpiece which is set to start on the 20th of November 2022.
Africa’s best record so far at the tournament was a Quarter-final berth achieved by Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana in 1990, 2002 and 2010 respectively.
The 2022 edition will be the first time since the World Cup started in 1930, that will see an all-African coaching cast for teams from the continent at the global finals in Qatar, barring any sudden change of heart by football federations.
Last month, the Atlas Lions of Morocco appointed former Wydad Casablanca Walid Regragui as their head coach to replace Vahid Halilhodzic. The appointment means all five African representatives in Qatar will be handled by a local coach.
The other four coaches include Jalel Kadri, head coach of the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia, while Borussia Dortmund assistant coach Otto Addo is at the helm of the Black Stars of Ghana, with Aliou Cisse in charge of the Teranga Lions of Senegal and Rigobert Song also the head coach for the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
This is a step up from the 2018 World Cup, which saw only Senegal and Tunisia having local coaches – Cisse and Nabil Maaloul, from the five countries that were representing the continent. All the teams were eliminated at the group stages.
This leads to the question; are African coaches ready to compete at the biggest football showpiece and get to break the Quarterfinal barrier?
Africa’s most decorated club coach Pitso Mosimane is of the view that an African team can reach the World Cup semi-finals if the continent places more faith in its coaches.
To have trust in African coaches is massive and shows a great sense of growth on the continent that must be sustained,
Mosimane told BBC Sport Africa.
He believes Africa can reach the semi-final if the continent gets to back its coaches for the top coaching jobs at various national teams.
The South African coach noted that the indigenous coaches have a better understanding of the key components of the African game and can thrive because they understand their national team’s mentality, cultural challenges and methods required to perform.
Africa can definitely break that semi-final barrier if we back our own coaches who truly understand the mentality, cultural challenges and methods required to perform
Added Mosimane.
Of late, there has been a significant rise in the number of African coaches making their mark on the continent including Mosimane, who has now been appointed as head coach of the Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia.
A quick glance at the five coaches in charge of the African FIFA World Cup bound teams shows great performances written all over their career profiles.
Regragui, the Moroccan coach, aged 47 years, is capped 45 times for the national team and led Wydad to the African Champions League and a domestic title. There will be a lot of expectations on his shoulders to deliver and so far already led Morocco to a 2-0 win over Chile in their first friendly match in this international window and will be expecting a win over Paraguay in their second friendly match.
It has been a great journey so far for former Senegal captain, Cisse, who has been in charge of the Teranga Lions since 2015.
The 46-year-old led the West Africans to a maiden continental success early this year when they lifted the Africa Cup of Nations before qualifying them for a second successive FIFA World Cup.
On the hand, Tunisia’s Kadri and Cameroon’s Song took over the head coach roles for their respective countries in the playoffs for the World Cup.
Kadri helped the Carthage Eagles defeat Mali in the playoffs to seal Tunisia’s sixth World Cup finals appearance while Song was named the Indomitable Lions coach in February and secured Cameroon’s record eighth qualification for the global football showpiece following a play-off win over Algeria
Ghana’s 47-year-old, Addo took charge of the Black Stars after their group-stage exit from the Nations Cup in January and qualified the side to the World Cup for the first time since 2014 following their victory over fierce rivals Nigeria in a 1-1 draw that saw them book a ticket to Qatar on away goals rule.
Mosimane is however confident the coaches that are going to the World Cup are all well qualified and equipped with the knowledge and skills to steer their respective teams to greater heights.
He adds that with their coaching foundation and local football knowledge, the five African coaches are more than capable to lead their respective countries at the World Cup.
Our coaches going to the World Cup are qualified and adequately prepared for the role because it is not beyond their ability,
I know my brothers Aliou and Walid very well because we shared classes during our (Confederation of African Football) Pro license course. They’ve both proven themselves on the job and attained the highest coaching certificates as well.
Said Mosimane.
Mosimane has dispelled long-held beliefs that the status of African coaches remains low and that they do not get the same respect from players as foreign coaches.
The former Al Ahly SC coach referred to the success of the late Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi who qualified two different African countries to two World Cup editions – Togo in 2006 and Nigeria in 2014, as an example of what African coaches can achieve if trusted and supported.
What Keshi did by beating foreign managers on his way to continental success was to break that notion of an African coach,
It is ridiculous that people continue to hold on to the belief that only foreigners are good for African teams. These coaches also played for top teams in Europe and elsewhere – they are exposed to modern ideas and deserve the respect of our players, fans, media and other cynics.
Charged Mosimane.
Many Africans will now hope the trusted five indigenous coaches leading the continent’s envoy’s in Qatar will deliver to the expectations of the masses that want the prestigious Global trophy to come to Africa for the first in football history.
Morocco were pitted in Group F alongside Belgium, Canada and Croatia while Cameroon are in group G with Brazil, Serbia, and Switzerland.
Ghana, Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay are in group H and Tunisia will face defending champions France, Australia and Denmark.
The African Champions, Senegal, were drawn against Ecuador, and Netherlands hosts Qatar in group A.
