Ivory Coast’s audacious attempt to recruit Herve Renard for AFCON fails
Ivory Coast’s ambitious bid to bring back former coach Herve Renard for the remaining 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign has hit a roadblock.
The 55-year-old, presently managing France Women, faced a setback as the French Football Federation (FFF) rejected the proposed “loan” deal with the Ivorian federation.
Despite reaching the last 16 of the competition, Ivory Coast parted ways with manager Jean-Louis Gasset after two group stage defeats.
Following Gasset’s departure, the Elephants advanced to the knockout stages as one of the four best third-place finishers and are now gearing up to face defending champions Senegal in the next round.
Renard, who steered Ivory Coast to AFCON glory in 2015, aimed to become the first coach to secure victories with two different countries, having previously led Zambia to success three years prior.
While Renard expressed interest in the Ivorian offer, the agreement of the FFF was crucial, and it has been confirmed that the French governing body turned down the request.
Currently under contract with the FFF until the end of the year’s Olympic Games in Paris, Renard also has commitments with Les Bleus, including a UEFA Women’s Nations League semi-final against Germany in Lyon on February 23.
Ivory Coast faced a significant setback with a humiliating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in their final Group A match, marking the heaviest defeat suffered by a host nation in AFCON history.
In the aftermath, Gasset was replaced by former international Emerse Fae in an interim capacity.
The 40-year-old, with playing experience at clubs like Nantes, Reading, and Nice, is now poised to lead the Elephants against Senegal in Yamoussoukro on Monday (20:00 GMT).
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