Vieira Named Senegal Coach Without Signed Contract
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Patrick Vieira (50) has been announced as Senegal's new head coach without having signed a contract, with no date set for his official presentation
- Pape Thiaw, Vieira's predecessor, was sacked after Senegal's last-32 World Cup exit to Belgium and is demanding ~$815,000 (£600,000) in unpaid wages and bonuses
- The FSF unanimously approved Vieira on Monday over candidates including Patrick Kluivert, Patrice Carteron, Habib Beye, and Oumar Daf
- A CAS ruling expected by Friday could call into question the legitimacy of FSF president Abdoulaye Fall's election, which has been contested for a year by candidate Mady Toure
- Senegal returns to action September 23 in 2027 AFCON qualifiers, traveling to Mozambique in their Group J opener before facing Ethiopia days later
- Vieira's coaching record has been middling: sacked from Nice in December 2020, dismissed by Crystal Palace in March 2023 with the club three points above relegation, and departed Genoa last November with the team winless and bottom of Serie A
- Vieira co-founded the Diambars Institute in Senegal, which has produced national team players including Idrissa Gana Gueye, Bamba Dieng, and Abdoulaye Seck
Why it matters: Vieira inherits a federation with three simultaneous unresolved crises: Thiaw's ~$815,000 dismissal payout, a CAS ruling that could invalidate Fall's presidency, and a January AFCON final trophy whose destination is itself being arbitrated — meaning Senegal enters 2027 AFCON qualifying with its entire governance chain under legal challenge.
Ask SkimNews
