Renard or Vieira: political conflicts hold up appointment of Senegal’s new coach

Senegalese football is witnessing an open battle for the position of head coach of the national team, following their exit in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup, after the “Lions of Teranga” lost to Belgium (3-2).

The French newspaper L’Équipe reported on Saturday that Patrick Vieira and Hervé Renard are battling to succeed Pape Thiaw, whose exit now looks all but certain. The final call remains on hold, held up by internal crises and political conflicts reaching the very top of power in Senegal.

Read also

Real Madrid set the date to present their latest signing

Rodri informs Manchester City of his stance on a move to Real Madrid

Dakar-born Vieira leads the race for the job. Without a club since leaving Italy’s Genoa in November 2025, he enjoys wide support inside the Senegalese Football Federation, thanks to his Senegalese roots and his earlier investment in the “Diambars” academy, one of the country’s most prominent player development academies.

Talks with him have reached an advanced stage, sources add, and he has given his initial approval to take on the role.

Renard among the leading candidates

Hervé Renard remains firmly in contention. His record in African football speaks for itself: he led Zambia to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations title, then repeated the feat with Côte d’Ivoire in 2015 to become the only coach crowned champions with two different teams.

His most recent stint, with Tunisia at the World Cup, proved brief. Even so, his name stays on the shortlist to coach Senegal.

Appointing the new coach has become tangled up in the country’s political tensions, amid ongoing friction between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko within the ruling “Pastef” party. That rift has fed through into the decisions of the Senegalese Football Federation.

No official decision has been announced yet. The federation is waiting to complete the procedures for terminating Pape Thiaw’s contract and to secure the approval of the Ministry of Sport before naming the man who will lead the national team into the next phase, with the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup qualifiers on the horizon.