Mozambique coach’s future misty after AFCON

Days after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco, Chiquinho Conde’s tenure as Mozambique national team coach hangs in the balance.

The former Sporting Club striker’s contract expires on Saturday. So far, the Mozambican Football Federation (FMF) has not guaranteed him an extension.

FMF held a meeting on Wednesday to review the Mambas’ performance under Conde. The postmortem included Mozambique’s performance at the AFCON finals. The 60-year-old, somehow, did not attend the meeting despite claims that he was invited.

Pan-Africa Football monitored the meeting through media outlets such Lance.co.mz which broadcast the outcome of the proceedings live.

What Mozambique FA says on Conde

Emerging from the indaba, FMF vice-president for Studies, Projects, Marketing and Public Relations, Gervásio de Jesus, said they had informed the coach that he was now a free agent.

“The aim was to analyze and assess the performance of the national team during the competition [AFCON], and other very important aspects related to infrastructure and the preparation of our teams’ participation in COSAFA competitions,” De Jesus said.

“The Executive Board only informed the national coach about the expiration of his employment contract. He was notified of this matter, and now we await the subsequent steps.”

The vice-president insisted that they were not in a hurry to make a decision on the identity of the Mambas’ next coach. He did not rule out Conde’s recall.

“From this moment on, Chiquinho is a free agent, and the Mozambican Federation is also free to take any position regarding this process, which is not currently putting pressure on the Federation,” De Jesus added.

“A reflection will be made, and that is what will happen in the coming months, looking at the pressing needs of a strategic plan that the Executive Board itself intends to implement.”

The former Mambas striker led the team to the 2023 and 2025 AFCON finals. In the last edition in Morocco, Mozambique lost 1-0 to Ivory Coast and Cameroon (2-1) before beating Gabon 3-2 for the first-ever victory at the tournament.

The single win secured them a Round-of-16 berth, again for the first time. Eventually, Mozambique lost 4-0 to Nigeria to exit the AFCON finals.

Conde took over from Horacio Goncalves in 2021 after his Portuguese predecessor was sacked after just six months in charge.