Senegal coach Aliou Cissé ousted ahead of AFCON qualifiers

Senegal coach Aliou Cissé, who led the team to an Africa Cup of Nations title and the past two World Cup tournaments, lost his job Wednesday with the national soccer federation citing a government request not to renew his contract.

Cissé was nearing 10 years in charge of the Teranga Lions that included reaching two AFCON finals — winning the title in 2022 — and the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup. Senegal went to that tournament in Qatar without star forward Sadio Mané, who was injured.

The Senegalese soccer body published a letter Wednesday thanking Cissé for his work and “his brilliant results.”

The former Paris Saint-Germain defender had been due to hold a news conference Friday to announce his squad for upcoming qualifying games for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

The letter also listed reasons from the government sports ministry not to renew Cissé’s contract for one year: Not reaching recent tournament objectives, the team’s falling FIFA ranking, and the risk of worsening relations between the team and the Senegalese public.

It was unclear if the ministry's request conflicted with FIFA rules prohibiting government interference in the independent management of its member federations.

Senegal failed to retain its African title this year. Cissé’s team was eliminated in the round of 16 in a penalty shootout by host Ivory Coast, which went on win the title.

FIFA now ranks Senegal at No. 21 in the world, four places below its record high achieved from February to April this year.

Senegal is unbeaten in a four-team qualifying group for the next African championship and has home and away games against Malawi this month.

The federation said it will appoint an interim coaching team for the next games.

Senegal also is unbeaten in a 2026 World Cup qualifying group though trails leader Sudan by two points after four of the 10 rounds. Senegal resumes play in March away to Sudan.