Emerse Faé, champion of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), has been confirmed as the head coach of the Ivory Coast national team on Monday 19th February 2024 by the country’s football federation president, Idriss Diallo.

“Emerse was previously the interim coach and has now been appointed as head coach,” announced Diallo at the event presenting the AFCON trophy to a sponsor in Abidjan.

“It’s a two-year contract, until the 2026 World Cup, renewable,” confirmed the official to AFP.

Emerse Faé took charge of the Ivorian national team during the AFCON, a day after the team secured qualification to the knockout stage despite a disastrous campaign.

The ‘Elephants’, then led by Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset, started with a win against Guinea-Bissau (2-0), but later suffered defeats to Nigeria (1-0) and Equatorial Guinea (4-0).

Thanks to poor results from other teams, Ivory Coast managed to advance to the Round of 16 as the fourth best third-placed team overall.

The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) decided to dismiss Gasset and leave the team temporarily under Faé’s leadership.

On February 11, Ivory Coast clinched the AFCON title with a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the final, having previously eliminated Senegal, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.