The national teams of Guinea and Sudan will be in the same company as Nigeria, with all three teams set to be led by interim coaches when the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Cameroon next month. Guinea decided to keep Kaba Diawara as interim coach after the former national team striker led the Syli Nationale for their last two FIFA World Cup qualifying fixtures, a 0-0 draw against Guinea-Bissau followed by a 3-0 loss to Morocco. Inexperienced as a manager, Diawara will be aided by assistant Mandjou Diallo at the AFCON.
Sudan has decided to move on from French coach Hubert Velud after a disastrous spell in FIFA World Cup qualifying as well as at the FIFA Arab Cup. Sudan failed to win a single match during the nine-match spell, finishing last in their World Cup qualifying group before losing all three group stage games at the Arab Cup, a tournament where the team failed to score while conceding ten goals. After leading Sudan to their first AFCON since 2013 in a qualification campaign that wrapped up at the end of March, Velud will be replaced by locally based coach Burhan Tia, who has plenty of experience in the Sudan Premier League and was an assistant at the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) where Sudan finished third.
