Why Tanzania has sacked coach Adel Amrouche amid Afcon games

Tanzania has fired Adel Amrouche less than a year after hiring him Taifa Stars head coach.

In a statement, the Tanzania Football Federation cited the eight match ban handed down to the former Harambee Stars tactician by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over remarks he made against the Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).

Amrouche accused the FRMF of using its influence inside CAF to choose more convenient time slots for the Moroccan national team and influencing referees.

“Currently, the FRMF is a confirmed power in the African football world, in the last match against Morocco, they forced us to play in the evening when we wanted to play in the early afternoon,” he said during a televised interview on Algerian TV earlier in the week.

“In new move, the committee of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has terminated Coach Adel Amrouche. Following that decision, it has appointed Hemed Morocco as acting coach who will be assisted by Juma Mgunda,” TFF communication officer Clifor Ndimbo said in a statement.

Tanzania fell to Morocco 3-0 in their opening game of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday in a game that Tanzania had Novatus Miroshi sent off with 20 minutes left.

Amrouche was appointed as Taifa Stars coach on March 4, 2023.

In a statement, Ndimbo described the Algerian-born tactician as one with enough expertise in the field of soccer having worked with national teams in Equatorial Guinea, Botswana, Libya and Yemen.

“As Harambee Stars coach he set a record of playing 20 games without losing,” Ndimbo said.

Amrouche was appointed Harambee Stars head coach in February 2013 but was controversially sacked the following year after being served with a one-year ban by CAF for unsportsmanlike conduct.