Burkina Faso: What supporters think after Brama Traoré's dismissal
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All original articlesLess than a year and a half after taking office, Brama Traoré is no longer the coach of the Burkina Faso Stallions. The Burkina Faso Football Federation (FBF) formalized, in mid-January 2026, the end of its collaboration with the Burkinabè technician and all of his technical staff, following the premature elimination of the national team in the eighth finals of the 2025 African Cup of Nations, played in Morocco.
Appointed in March 2024 to replace the Frenchman Hubert Velud, Brama Traoré’s clear mission was to hoist the Stallions at least into the semi-finals of this edition. A goal deemed «largely disappointed» by the Burkina Faso Football Federation after the heavy defeat conceded to Côte d'Ivoire, host country of the previous AFCON and major regional rival. This counter-performance, marked by a highly criticized starting XI and an ultra-defensive tactic with five defenders lined up, precipitated the dismissal decision.
The Burkinabe supporters, very upset since the elimination, have massively welcomed this decision. On social networks and in the streets, opinions converge: the departure was expected and even demanded.
"We had been waiting for this for a long time. We are really happy with the dismissal of Brama Traoré,"
confides a fan in Ouagadougou.
"Facing Côte d'Ivoire, we were all disappointed. So disappointed. The federation is now being asked to choose another local coach to accompany the Stallions.”
Another supporter goes further:
"He didn’t do his job. That day, we were all shocked with his type eleven against Côte d'Ivoire. It wasn’t a good ranking he made. We are all proud of his dismissal, him and his staff.
The criticisms are mainly focused on the selection choices
Persistence in summoning aging executives, who are not well, to the detriment of young talents evolving abroad and performing in clubs. "He leaves talented young people aside and goes back with the same old ones to hope for different results. It’s complicated", analyses a third interlocutor. "If it was the young people he had brought, even without winning, we would have at least seen some game and we could aim for the semi-final. But with this five-man defense, we take two goals in a few minutes... It’s not feasible.”
The Burkina Faso Football Federation (FBF) has not yet announced the name of the successor. Some supporters are already calling for a return to an experienced local coach, capable of renewing the squad and breathing new life into a team that remains on several consecutive failures in the final phase of the AFCON.
In the meantime, the dismissal of Brama Traoré marks the end of a short but intense cycle, and opens a new page for the Stallions of Burkina Faso, in a context where popular pressure and expectations remain very high.