Cote d’Ivoire has appointed Ibrahim Kamara as the new national football side’s head coach after seven months without a manager.
The Elephants sacked Marc Wilmots in November 2017 following a disappointing World Cup qualification campaign but didn’t rush to fill the vacant position soon after. The Ivory Coast federation had promised to take their time to get a perfect fit and not just someone who would be “paid for doing nothing.”
The Ivorian Football Federation’s Sory Diabate confirmed in April that the FIF would name Wilmots’ successor before the end of June but ultimately waited until the month’s end to unveil his replacement.
“Ibrahim has been appointed with a renewable two-year contract which ends on June 30th 2020.” The FIF confirmed in a statement.
“The new Elephants coach has the aim of qualifying for the 2019 AFCON and above all to prepare the group for the 2021 AFCON which has been awarded to Cote d’Ivore.”
While unveiling Camara, FIF revealed the delay to appoint the new head coach was result of the fiscal deficiency caused by the federation’s inability to afford a new Coach while paying off Wilmots’ outstanding fees.
Kamara is making a second coming on the hot-seat having previously also served in the capacity of an understudy while Herve Renard was manager during their AFCON-winning campaign in 2015 and boasts of vast experience when it comes to African football.
Kamara has been in charge since Wilmots’ departure, taking charge of the former champions’ two friendlies against Togo (2-2 draw) and Moldova (2-1 win). After impressive outings, Camara topped the list of five candidates to ultimately win the job and becomes the first local tactician to take charge of the side since the exit of Francois Zahoui in 2012.
On the duration of the contract, FIF vice president promised that if Camara impressed, then they would have no reason not to extend his contract.
The Elephants missed out on a spot to Russia after qualifying for three consecutive World Cups in 2006, 2010 and 2014, something that irked millions of fans in the football loving country.
After a flattering 3-2 loss to Guinea, Ivory Coast has a bit of re-shuffling to do before resuming their 2019 African Nations Cup qualification against Rwanda in September.
Featured photo: Getty Images
