Ivory Coast are close to naming a successor to the recently departed Patrice Beaumelle for the national team manager position and one of the country’s legends is in contention for the job. Long time national team center back Kolo Touré of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool fame is reported to be submitting his application for the position with the choice set to be announced on May 11. Touré has been an assistant to manager Brendan Rodgers at Celtic and now Leicester City and also has experience in the Ivorian setup as a coach with the domestic-based African Nations Championship (CHAN) national side and the under-23 national team.
Newly elected Ivorian federation president Yacine Idriss Diallo pledged to accelerate the process of naming a new coach for Les Élephants with the position being vacant since Beaumelle’s departure on April 6. Diallo has hinted that his preferred setup will include Ivorian coaches to speed up the process of integration with a minimum expectation of reaching the semifinals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be hosted by the West African country.
