Senegal Head Coach Cisse Steps Down after Nine and  a Half Years.

Aliou Cisse, Senegal’s head coach has step down after nine and half years leading the Teranga Lions.

The 48 year old led Senegal to their first continental title, wining the 2021 African Cup of Nations. Although his previous contract ended on August, he remained in charge of the team for Senegal’s two 2025 Afcon qualifiers last month, a 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso and a 1-0 victory over Burundi.

However, Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) wanted to renew Cisse’s deal but the ministry of sports, under  Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s new government, decided to put an end to his long tenure just nine days before the next round of qualifiers. This comes as a surprise as Cisse has already picked his team, he called for a press conference on Friday to announce his squad for this month’s double-header against Malawi.

He won 35 cups for Senegal while he was a player, and took charge on March 2015. He helped establish the Teranga Lions as Africa’s top-ranked side for over four years.

Their national Cup title came after the finished as runner up in 2019. Their victory was on penalties against Egypt in Cameroon.

Nevertheless, the defence of the AFCON Cup earlier this ended at the last 16 after a penalty shootout defeat against hosts and eventual champions Ivory Coast.