The Senegalese Football Federation has parted ways with coach Aliou Cissé, at the request of the Minister of Sports, due to dissatisfaction with his recent results and his growing unpopularity at the head of the team among the public.
Cissé, 48, spent more than nine years at the head of the “Lions of Téranga” and won the African Cup of Nations in 2022.
In its press release, the Senegalese federation said in a press release that it had received a letter from the Minister of Sports, Khady Diane Gaye, refusing to renew the contract of Aliou Cissé, which expired on August 31.
The minister cited Cissé’s inability to achieve the objectives set for him, namely winning the last African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast and reaching the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as well as the fall of the national team in the FIFA world rankings, indicated the Senegalese federation.
The minister, in office since last April, also invoked “the risk of dissatisfaction between our national team and the Senegalese people” to justify her decision, he said.
Cissé took office in 2015 and led Senegal to their first African Cup of Nations title in the history of their participation in the 2022 edition in Cameroon, at the expense of Egypt on penalties, after having reached the final of the continental competition in 2019 in Egypt and losing to Algeria.
He also led the “Lions of Teranga” to the last two editions of the World Cup in Russia and Qatar, after several years of non-participation in the global event.
Cissé has been criticized since Senegal’s early elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast on penalties against the hosts.
This criticism intensified on social media after the 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in September.
The press release from the Senegalese federation explains that a “provisional working group” will be appointed for the remainder of the CAN 2025 qualifiers.
The federation will publish on October 4 the list of players selected for the third and fourth day matches against Malawi.
