Algeria’s Saadane only African coach at World Cup, wants to see more coaches from continent

Algeria coach wants more African coaches

POLOKWANE, South Africa — Algeria coach Rabah Saadane hopes that more African national teams will soon start working with coaches from the continent.

Africa is hosting its first World Cup, but Saadane is the only coach from the continent among the tournament’s 32 teams. He says African soccer associations should “trust more on our own skills.”

Saadane said Saturday it’s advantageous for each team to be coached by someone “from the same cultural background and with the same mentality.”

Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and host nation South Africa are the other African countries competing at the World Cup, but they are coached by four Europeans and a Brazilian.