NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 27 – Ivory Coast have failed in an audacious bid to bring former coach Herve Renard back for the remainder of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
The 55-year-old is currently in charge of France Women but the French Football Federation (FFF) has refused a proposed “loan” deal with the Ivorian federation.
The Afcon hosts have reached the last 16 of the competition but sacked manager Jean-Louis Gasset on Wednesday following two defeats in the group stage.
After Gasset’s departure the Elephants qualified for the knock-out stages as one of four best third-place finishers, and now face defending champions Senegal in the next round.
Renard guided Ivory Coast to the Afcon title in 2015, becoming the first man to coach two different countries to victory following his shock success with Zambia three years beforehand.
The Frenchman, who has attended games at the finals as a guest of Ivory Coast’s government, was said to be “not insensitive to this call from the Ivorians”.
However, he needed the agreement of the FFF, who confirmed to the AFP news agency that it had turned down the request from Ivory Coast.
Renard is under contract with the FFF through to the end of this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, and Les Bleus also have a Uefa Women’s Nations League semi-final against Germany in Lyon on 23 February.
Ivory Coast’s humiliating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in their final Group A match was the heaviest defeat suffered by a host nation in Afcon history.
Gasset was subsequently replaced by former international Emerse Fae in an interim role.
The 40-year-old, who had spells as a player with Nantes, Reading and Nice, is now set to take change when the Elephants face Senegal in Yamoussoukro on Monday (11pm).
