After nine and a half years as the Teranga Lions’ coach, Aliou Cisse has been fired from his role as Senegal’s coach.
The 48-year-old led the West Africans to their first continental championship in February 2022 when they emerged victorious in the postponed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
Senegal’s two 2025 Afcon qualifiers last month—a 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso and a 1-0 triumph over Burundi—were managed by him despite the fact that his last contract terminated in August.
Read Also:Senegal, Sierra Leone become first two Nations to qualify for U20 2025 AFCON
The country’s football federation (FSF) had wanted Cisse’s contract extended, but just nine days before the next round of qualifiers, the sports ministry, part of Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s new government, decided to cut short his lengthy career.
“The FSF would like to thank Aliou Cisse for his good collaboration and his brilliant results at the head of various national selections and wishes him every success for the future,” a statement said.
Although there have occasionally been tense relations between the FSF and the government, who provide the coach’s wage, the timing of the move is unexpected.
For this month’s doubleheader against Malawi, Cisse has previously scheduled a news conference for this Friday to reveal his starting lineup.
After taking over as captain in March 2015, Cisse, a Senegalese player with 35 caps, helped the Teranga Lions become the top-ranked team in Africa for more than four years.
Three years after finishing as runners-up in the 2019 finals, they won the Nations Cup in Cameroon against Egypt on penalties.
But earlier this year, they lost to eventual champions Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout, ending their trophy defence in the round of 16.
The Teranga Lions qualified for both the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, however they were eliminated in the group stages and the last 16 respectively.
In December 2022, Morocco overtook Cisse’s team as the highest-ranked country in Africa.
After four rounds of qualification for the 2026 World Cup, Senegal is currently two points behind leaders Sudan in their group.
Next March, that campaign is scheduled to continue.
According to the FSF’s statement, a letter it received on Monday did not contain an approval from Senegal’s Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture, Khady Diene Gaye, for a one-year contract extension for Cisse.
The “failure to achieve the objectives assigned in November 2022″—winning the 2023 Afcon title and qualifying for the World Cup quarterfinals—as well as the “regression” in the world rankings and “the risk of disaffection between our national team and the Senegalese in general” were cited as the reasons for the decision.
The FSF has not yet revealed the temporary coaching staff for the 2025 Afcon qualifying matchup with Malawi.