TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 winning coach, Emerse Fae, has become the latest African tactician to add his name to the list of coaches who have guided their teams to continental title glory. The 34th edition of Africa’s most prestigious competition concluded with a classic African tie between tournament hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, and Nigeria, which saw the hosts lift their third continental title with a comeback 2-1 victory in Ebimpe.
Under the astute guidance of 40-year-old Emerse Fae, Cote d’Ivoire’s historic feat came after the team received a lifeline from finishing as one of the third-best-placed teams in the group stages to emphatically march to a pole finish.
Eleven African coaches have officially lifted the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON title since the competition’s inaugural edition in 1957, with the list expected to grow over the upcoming editions as young African tacticians from all corners of the continent continue to emerge.
Mourad Fahmy of Egypt was the first to lift the title, followed by Ghana’s Charles Gyamfi, who holds the record of the most TotalEnergies CAF AFCON titles (3) alongside Hassan Shehata of Egypt. Of the seven titles held by Egypt, five were achieved under the auspices of a local coach, while two of Cote d’Ivoire’s three titles are shared by Ivorians Martial Yeo (1992) and quite recently, Fae.
Other notable African coaches that have guided their respective nations to glory include Fred Osam Doudu (Ghana), Abdelhamid Kermali (Algeria), Clive Barker (South Africa), Mohamed Al Gohari (Egypt), Stephen Keshi (Nigeria), and Aliou Cisse (Senegal).
It is also worth noting that the current TotalEnergies CAF Africa Women’s Cup of Nations champions, South Africa, are coached by their former captain, Desiree Ellis.
