Chad: change of head coach causes a stir

"Leave football to those who know football." In an Instagram story, Amine Hiver, one of the few Chadians playing abroad (Zesco United in Zambia), publicly voiced his dismay at the change of staff for the Chad national team.

Head coach since October 2023, Kévin Nicaise had managed to build a genuine team spirit despite a lack of resources and a federation with no executive committee. Having qualified the Sao for the main round of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers - something that had not been done for a decade - he had instilled a consistency and discipline appreciated by most of the squad, who do not understand his departure at all.

Nicaise learned the news on social media

As he explained in December on Sport News Africa, Nicaise was juggling short-term contracts and hoped to settle into a more stable position so he could work towards the medium term. With the FTFA still yet to elect its executive committee, the Ministry of Sports was overseeing all activities, with the help of the federation's interim general secretary, Baba Ahmat Baba.

Read also: Kévin Nicaise: "We laid the foundations for the future of the Chad national team"

Following the government reshuffle, Abakar Djermah was replaced as sports minister by a newcomer to the field, Maïda Hamid Lony. Nicaise contacted him several times – "I made the first move to present my project for what comes next" - but the new minister eventually stopped replying to the coach, who ended up learning the news like the rest of the Chadian population, through the FTFA's post on its Facebook page.

A new successful coach, but with criticised man-management

Finally on an upward curve after years of debacles, forfeits and suspension, Chad's Sao are starting a new cycle with a local coach, Tahir Zakaria, who won the national league title in 2023 and the N'Djamena League in 2024 with AS PSI.

He resigned after a difficult start to the season, but ultimately stayed on. Regarded as a football enthusiast who has developed good young players, he has often been criticised for his man-management, his impulsiveness and the words he reportedly used about players from the south. A police officer in civilian life, he is also used to coaching teams linked to the security forces or the military.

Some players hesitating over joining the next camp

However, this surprise appointment does not sit well with several national team players, who are considering following the example of their former captain, Marius Mouandilmadji, who announced his international retirement after the latest AFCON qualifying campaign, notably because of deep disagreements with the running of Chadian football decided by the sports minister.

While awaiting legal proceedings at the CAS to determine whether the elections on 1 March will go ahead, others are questioning the influence of the only candidate approved by the electoral commission, Tahir Oloy Hassan, and his closeness to the general secretary (Baba Ahmat Baba) and the new sports minister. All the more so as the long-serving national technical director, Modou Kouta, was recently suspended by the general secretary and took no part in the decision to change the technical staff...

Romain MOLINA