Emerse Faé calls on African football leaders

The former Ivory Coast head coach is calling for greater patience and more resources to be allocated to the continent’s coaching staff.

Emerse Faé, who guided the Elephants to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title, left his role as Ivory Coast head coach after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with his contract not renewed by the Ivorian Football Federation. He took the opportunity of the strategic conference organised by CAF last week in Cape Verde to send a message to African football leaders.

In his plea, the Ivorian tactician emphasised the need to provide coaches with a suitable framework. Faced with recurring changes of head coaches, Faé called for stability.

“For progress to be made and for African football to continue to grow, African leaders must give coaching staff time to do their work: they have ideas, but football doesn’t happen overnight, it takes hard work and time.

“So let these coaches get on with their work, and we must also provide the conditions for them to do their jobs properly. We’re every bit as good as the Europeans or the South Americans, but we really need the same conditions and the same mindset as those teams that are winning.”