Why did the Mée coach go to Mozambique?

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The Cosafa Cupa tournament which brings together the best youth teams from southern Africa, is a valuable opportunity for Cœlacanthesthe nickname of Comorian footballers, to win a place for the African Cup of Nations (CAN) U20.

The final phase of the tournament will take place from September 26 to 1^is October, with the semi-finals scheduled for October 3 and the grand final scheduled for October 5. “The format of these qualifying phases on the African continent is divided into mini-tournaments. Regarding the Comoros Archipelago, our base is in Mozambique in a group in which we find South Africa, Malawi and Lesotho,” explains Youssouf Abdallah, the Meen coach, who has just joined the Comoros team. as deputy.

Proud to represent Comoros

For the record, Youssouf Abdallah has dual Franco-Comorian nationality. The club of Mée Sports also received an official letter from the Comoros Federation dated September 6, informing that their coach, recently installed at the head of the Seine-et-Marnaise team after succeeding Abdou Oubbana at the end of the season last, would be made available to the U20 national selection. This gesture aims to help Comoros in their quest to qualify for the Cosafa Cup final.

It is with great pride that Youssouf Abdallah welcomed this appointment. “An opportunity had already presented itself last season for a tournament in the Paris region with the U23s, but the timing was not good. In addition, there was no medium or long term challenge with this age category, and I was not able to free myself professionally. There are few Comorian qualified sports educators capable of supervising a selection. When I received this letter from the Federation, it was a wonderful surprise and immense pride for me. »

An obvious agreement with the Mée club

On September 25, Youssouf Abdallah landed in Mozambique, ready to take up his new role within the staff of the U20 national team, led by the main coach, Samirdine Youssouf. This position represents a true recognition of his journey, as he explains. “The DTN and the coach absolutely wanted it to be me. My field experience was an essential criterion for this appointment. »

This new adventure is made possible thanks to the agreement of Mée Sports, and particularly of President Aly Dia. “My employer understood my attachment to my country of origin and the importance of this meeting for me, both sportingly and on a human level. I confidently left the keys to R1 to my deputies, Ali Bayoussef and Benamar Chachoua, who will lead the sessions in my absence. They also manage the matches, notably the Ulis reception on October 6.”

On site, Youssouf Abdallah quickly integrated and took up his duties in optimal conditions. “I lead the sessions and I attend and participate in the talks to free up time for the head coach, Samirdine, in his tactical thinking.”

One victory, two defeats…

The challenge was big for the young people Cœlacanthes. Only the teams finishing first in their group, as well as the best second, could advance to the semi-finals. To start, Comoros won their first match against Lesotho (1-0). After losing 2-1 to Malawi on Sunday, they lost again 2-0 to South Africa, one of the tournament favorites. The adventure therefore unfortunately stopped there for this young team who still took the opportunity to gain experience… And this competition also offered great visibility to the young coach of Mée who has his whole future ahead of him .

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