Mali: Winfried Shäfer, imminent appointment at the head of the Eagles
Winfried Shäfer, the 72-year-old German technician, unless there is a twist in the recruitment process, should take control of the Eagles of Mali. According to information from Sport News Africa, he will thus succeed Mohamed Magassouba, half of his functions after the elimination against Tunisia in the play-offs of the 2022 World Cup.
The future coach of Mali will therefore be Winfried Shäfer. This is the final decision taken after the meeting held this Thursday and ended around 7 p.m. GMT by the members of the commission set up to examine the applications and to choose the coach of Mali. It comes after several meetings and interviews carried out on Wednesday afternoon by
videoconference with finally 2 candidates instead of 3 initially established applications .
The two finalists were Germany’s Winfried Schäfer, and Eric Sekou Chelle, 44, a former Malian international. The choice finally fell on the experience of the first. The 72-year-old German and former coach of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon will benefit from a three-year contract. Contacted to take the Malian selection, his compatriot Gernot Rohr was finally disqualified, after investigation by the commission, for facts related to an investigation concerning him.
Winfried Shäfer as number 1, Eric Sekou Chelle as deputy?
Winfried Schäfer will aim, among other things, to qualify the Eagles for the semi-final of CAN 2023 and for the final of the 2025 edition. And finally lead the team to the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. the CAN 2023 start at least next June. Mali is in pool G along with Congo, Gambia and South Sudan. The mission of the German coach will thus begin with the reception of Congo on June 4 at the Stade 26 Mars before a trip on June 8 to Egypt at the Stade AL Salam to go face South Sudan.
After these two meetings, Mali will deliver a friendly match against Ecuador. The meeting will take place in the United States on June 11. Tipped to be the coach of the Eagles,Eric Sekou Chelle, the former coach of Boulogne-sur-Mer will therefore be offered the position of assistant coach according to information from Sport News Africa . It remains to be seen whether he will be inclined to accept the position, as he applied to be coach. A final meeting is scheduled for Friday at the headquarters of the Malian Football Federation, to finalize the details of Winfried Shäfer’s contract, particularly on the financial aspect. Last step before the official announcement.
