France appoint former AFCON winner as head coach of national team

France have appointed former Zambia and Ivory Coast manager Herve Renard to head the women’s team after short search for a manager following the departure of former head coach Corinne Diacre. 

Renard shot into the football limelight as coach of the Zambian National team, leading them to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations despite being rank outsiders for the title. 

He repeated the feat with the Ivory Coast in 2015, winning his second AFCON title, leaving him behind only Charles Gyamfi and Hassan Shehata on the coaches’ leaderboard with three wins each. 

Renard went on to coach the Saudi Arabian national team and achieved a great highlight by beating eventual world champions Argentina in the first game of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, although the Green Falcons failed to go past the group stage. 

He was manager of the Saudi Arabian team from 2019 until 2023, and had earlier expressed an intention to stay with them, but could not refuse France when the opportunity presented itself. 

Renard was appointed manager of the French Women’s National Team on Thursday, and will now take his first steps into women’s football with his country of origin, France. 

The 54-year-old manager will take over the national team in a period of crises that saw former head coach Diacre sacked after a number of players had asked to be excluded from the team due to her poor management style. 

Former French women’s captain Wendie Renard, as well as forward Marie-Antoinette Katoto and midfielder Kadidatou Diani all left the French team and an independent panel found Diacre’s position to be untenable, leading to her ultimate sack. 

Renard will have the unenviable task of preparing France for the 2023 Women’s World Cup with only months left to kick-off, while also experiencing the rare achievement of playing at two FIFA World Cups in the space of a year.