Only a few hours or days remain before the identity of the person who will succeed Aliou Cissé as head coach of the Senegal national team is revealed.
The Executive Committee of the Senegalese Football Federation is meeting today, and the appointment of Aliou Cissé’s successor will be confirmed at the end of this session. Pape Thiaw, who served as interim coach for four matches, is the leading candidate. He has unique strengths and advantages that set him apart from the other contenders.
The Executive Committee of the Senegalese Football Federation is meeting today for a highly anticipated session in Senegalese football circles. The main focus of this meeting is the recruitment of the new head coach for the national team. The committee members have already received their convocations, and the agenda includes five key points.
First, the meeting will begin with the adoption of the minutes from the October 9, 2024, session. Next, discussions will revolve around domestic competitions, with a detailed review and strategic decisions to follow.
The third point on the agenda will address international competitions, including an evaluation of the U17 UFOA-A tournament in Dakar, which concluded with Senegal’s victory. Preparations for the CAN 2025 qualifiers in Morocco, the Egypt 2024 Beach Soccer CAN, and the 2024 zonal school championship will also be discussed.
The Strengths of Pape Thiaw
The key moment of the agenda will then be reached: the appointment of the new head coach of the national team.
Aliou Cissé, who was appointed in 2015 and led Senegal to victory in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, was dismissed from his position just as the Lions of Teranga, led by Sadio Mané, were preparing to face Malawi on October 11 and 15 in Dakar and Lilongwe for the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.
Following his dismissal, Pape Thiaw was appointed as interim coach. A former Senegalese international and winner of the 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN), Thiaw had previously risen through the ranks to become the national team’s first assistant coach, succeeding Frenchman Régis Bogaert.
A federal source highlights Thiaw’s advantages: “At the moment, Pape Thiaw has a clear edge over any other candidate. He served as an assistant for two matches and as interim coach for four matches, all of which he won.”
Debate on the Succession
Among the potential candidates for the position is Hervé Renard, who had proposed the former Senegalese international Oumar Daf as his assistant. However, Me Augustin Senghor, president of the Senegalese Football Federation, dismissed this possibility, stating :
“There is no question of hiring a foreigner. The complex of the ‘white wizard’ has long been demystified, and the last three Africa Cup of Nations victories by African coaches demonstrate that local expertise is more than sufficient to lead this national team.”
Pape Thiaw, for his part, does not hide his ambition to take the reins of the team. During the press conference following the match against Burundi, he expressed his desire to lead the team, captained by Kalidou Koulibaly. His experience within the technical staff during the AFCON in Ivory Coast further strengthens his candidacy.
A Race Against Time
However, the tight schedule could limit the options. The 2026 World Cup qualifiers start in three months, and several members of the Executive Committee prefer to avoid the risk of a radical change.
Senegal is set to face Sudan on March 17 and Togo on March 24. The lack of friendly matches before these fixtures complicates the possibility for a new coach to assess the squad. A federal source explains:
“The qualifiers are approaching, and taking the risk of hiring another coach would not be logical.”
Leave a Reply