Tanzania has sacked former Kenya National Football team head coach Adel Amrouche following his sanction by Africa’s football governing body Confederation of African Football (CAF).
In a statement, the Tanzania Football Federation announced on January 19, 2024, that Amrouche will be replaced by interim coach Hemed Morocco.
“Tanzania Football Federation has stopped coach Adel Amrouche. Due to the decision, the Federation has appointed Hemed Morocco as interim coach, assisted by Juma Mgunda,” read part of the statement.
The two will oversee the Taifa Stars play their remaining group games in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 tournament.
CAF Ban
According to the statement, the decision came following Amrouche’s 8-match ban by CAF over accusations tabled against the coach.
The sanction imposed by CAF is a consequence of Amrouche’s controversial remarks alleging corruption within CAF and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (RMFF).
RMFF submitted accusations against Amrouche before the CAF disciplinary committee following his controversial remarks.
Also, his tenure was cut short following a series of poor results with the national team, culminating in a 3-0 defeat to Morocco in the first match of AFCON 2023.
Adel Amrouche, who has managed Kenya in the past, was appointed as the Tanzania National team coach in March 2023.
TFF announced his appointment in a statement on March 4, 2023, describing him as a person with enough expertise in the field of soccer.
Amrouche has worked with several clubs and national teams including Equatorial Guinea, Botswana, Libya and Yemen.
Also Read: Kenyans Mock Tanzania After AFCON Thrashing
The Algerian born coach, who is also a former player, spent a large part of his career in Belgium, where he clinched his UEFA trainer-license.
Amrouche at Kenya
He was appointed as Harambee Stars head coach in February 2013 to replace James Nandwa who was serving in acting capacity after the departure of Henri Michel.
Staying for 18 months with Kenya national team, he was controversially sacked in 2014 after being served with a one-year ban by CAF for unsportsmanlike conduct.
During his tenure, Amrouche earned admirations from fans and endeared himself to Kenyan football courtesy of his good run with the Stars.
However, he fell out with the Football Kenya Federation management in 2014 after the team’s poor performance.
This was specifically after their poor run in the CAF preliminary matches, results that saw Kenya miss out on the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
At the time, he was also serving the one-year ban following alleged indecent assault of match officials.
Following his sacking, he sued Kenya for wrongful dismissal and demanded to be paid Ksh108 million.
Amrouche began his managerial career in 1988 by coaching the youth ranks of local club OMR El Annasser while playing for the senior team.
He held the same role during his playing stints with clubs such as USM Alger, RC Kouba, Congolese club Daring Club and Motema Pembe of Zambia.
He has also managed the Burundi and Libyan national football teams.
Reactions
Following his sacking, there were mixed reactions as fans took to the social media to react to the statement by TFF.
“CAF banned him for 8 games, and Tanzania fired him. Do I understand correctly? If that’s the case, say South Africa appoints him. Does it mean he won’t coach the first 8 games in his new job?” posed Kese Romeo.
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On the other hand, Christian Omorogi noted that the coach did not lead a proper team, strongly calling out his remarks as a blame game.
“A loser blames everybody except themselves. He led an awful football team; he should have focused on them rather than accusing others. Goodbye to AFCON,” he said.
However, others came to his defense, with a section saying that CAF should have taken time to investigate his statement.
Juma Mahuba noted, “Before banning him, they were supposed to investigate his statement and request for evidence. This not fair and I think the man was right.”
Also, another section blasted the Tanzanian Federation for sacking Amrouche, stating that it would have opted to back the coach.
“It is unfortunate that the coach’s statement was not supported by the nation, and even more disheartening that the coach was fired by the TFF,” noted Kennedy Francis.
Taifa Stars will be steered by the interim coach in their upcoming Group F match against Zambia on Sunday.
