Burkina Faso’s Velud latest Cup of Nations coaching casualty

Burkina Faso was eliminated by neighbour Mali in the first knockout round, having finished second in its group behind Angola but ahead of top-seeded Algeria.

Burkina Faso’s French coach Hubert Velud reacts during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 round of 16 football match between Mali and Burkina Faso at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo on January 30, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP

Burkina Faso has decided not to renew the contract of coach Hubert Velud after its Africa Cup of Nations last-16 exit, the country’s football federation said on Friday.

Burkina Faso was eliminated by neighbour Mali in the first knockout round, having finished second in its group behind Angola but ahead of top-seeded Algeria. Velud was making a belated first appearance on the bench at the Cup of Nations.

The 64-year-old Frenchman was shot in the arm in an attack on the Togo team bus by separatists in the Angolan enclave of Cabinda on the eve of the 2010 Cup of Nations finals. He and the rest of the Togo side went home before the tournament started.

Velud then got Sudan to the last finals in Cameroon two years ago but was fired weeks before the kick-off after a poor performance at the 2021 Arab Cup in Qatar.

He joins the list of coaches who have already departed after the Cup of Nations tournament in Ivory Coast.

Djamel Belmadi (Algeria), Rui Vitoria (Egypt), Tom Saintfiet (Gambia), Chris Hughton (Ghana), Baciro Cande (Guinea Bissau), Jean-Louis Gasset (Ivory Coast), Adel Amrouche (Tanzania) and Jalel Kadri (Tunisia) have all left their posts in recent weeks.