Ivory Coast’s bid to hire Herve Renard ‘on loan’ from the France women’s team for the rest of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) have suffered a major setback.
Ivory Coast, host nation for the 2023 AFCON lost 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea in their final group A game on Monday and the head coach Jean-Louis Gasset was fired from his role as manager of the team.
The Elephants are looking to loan Renard until the end of the ongoing AFCON after the Elephants failed to secure automatic qualification for the Round of 16 but finally booked its place as one of the four best third-place finishers thanks to Morocco’s victory over Zambia,
Interim coach Emerse Faé will likely stay in charge for the game against defending champion Senegal in Yamoussoukro on Monday.
Renard led Ivory Coast to their second AFCON title in 2015 and the France Football Federation (FFF) is keen to bring back the 55-year-old till the end of the tournament.
According to ESPN talks with the French federation over a possible loan deal for Renard broke down without agreement Thursday.
“The negotiations did not finish favourably, it’s because it shouldn’t have been,” Renard told Canal Plus as quoted by ESPN.
“I’d have loved it but fate chose otherwise.”
Renard is Ivory Coast’s priority to replace Gasset until the end of the tournament. The former Saudi Arabia manager is currently managing the France women’s national team and his contract with Les Bleues ends in August 2024.
Before leading Ivory Coast to their second Africa Cup of Nations title in 2015, Renard successfully guided Zambia to win the 2012 AFCON.
Renard led Saudi Arabia to a shock World Cup victory over Argentina before taking over the France women’s team coaching job in 2023.
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