Future of Mambas coach up in the air

Mozambique coach Chiquinho Conde's future in the job will not be decided for a few months, while he still has a contract that runs to July, the Mozambican Football Federation president Feizal Sidat said.

Mozambican press reports suggested he could be on his way out given strained relations with his employers and even though the Mambas left the Cup of Nations with their head held high after drawing against both Egypt and Ghana.

They still finished bottom of their group after a 3-0 loss to Lusophone rivals Cape Verde islands.

Sidat told reporters there was time before a decision needed to be taken, while admitting the coach had done well. “Without a doubt he has become more valuable, I believe, who knows, there may be a contract proposal for him and he may say no to one of our proposals,” he said.

“There needs to be will on both sides, not just on our side, also on his side”.

Conde was hired as coach in October 2021, and had in his contract the objective of qualifying for Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast.

But it proved a difficult process as there were several occasions where the players went on strikes and refused to train because they felt they were owed money.

“I don’t want to be a hypocrite. There are things that need to be improved. Let's be honest, the coach is the leader of the dressing room, he has to know how to control his dressing room, because the national coach is the one who calls up the players. Therefore, it is up to him to say, ‘my friends, this is not where you should go on strike, you should focus on training’. These things did not help the image of the national team,” Sidat added.

“From the experience I have from contacts with my colleagues, it is important that the president and the coach must be united, they must work hand in hand,” he added.

Conde has, meanwhile, gone to Portugal to further his coaching education.

“He will stay for almost a month to update his knowledge. I think that when he returns we can start to address his future with the Mambas, but remember it’s up to the president of the federation and the executive management to make the necessary decisions regarding the hiring of the coach.

“There was a lot of fuss when we fired Luis Gonçalves away, we paid compensation beyond our capacity, but perhaps it was necessary. We brought some stability. Not everything, naturally, went well. Things also evolve, we are learning over time and I think that Chiquinho has also seen that there are things that need to be improved within the national team,” added Sidat.

Mozambique have World Cup qualifiers against Somalia and Guinea next on their agenda in June.