Sports

Breaking: Morocco FA Sack National Team Coach Halilhodžić

Morocco's Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic arrives for the draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center on April 1, 2022. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

The Moroccan Football Association on Thursday announced sack of head coach of the national team Vahid Halilhodžić over what it described as “differences in vision between the coach and the organisation.”

The coach will now not lead the team to Qatar 2022 despite guiding them to qualifying the tournament.

Despite leading the Atlas Lions to a perfect 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign including the playoffs which they won all games, the FA elected to fire the experienced tactician for ostensibly having irreconcilable differences with most of his important players.

Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech has vowed never to play for the Moroccan national team although he is one of the country’s brightest stars in Europe due to his constant issues with the head coach.

Ziyech was claimed to have feigned injury to miss certain Moroccan games which the player denied.

Wydad FC coach Walid Regragui, who led the club to beat Al Ahly in the 2022 CAF Champions League final is reportedly being considered as the replacement for Halilhodžić.

Izuchukwu Okosi

Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc. In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio. He worked there for 13 years until October 2017. Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch. He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations. Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line. Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.