For decades, African national teams looked to Europe for their coaches. The men on this list proved that home-grown managers could win at the highest level, from the Africa Cup of Nations to the knockout rounds of the World Cup. Their achievements still shape how the continent’s big matches are discussed, whether supporters are debating tactics or checking the latest football odds before kick-off. Here are the five finest.
1. Hassan Shehata, Egypt
No coach has dominated African football quite like Shehata. He took charge of Egypt in 2004 and won the Africa Cup of Nations three times in a row, in 2006, 2008 and 2010. The first came on home soil after a shootout against Ivory Coast, and the next two were 1-0 final wins over Cameroon and Ghana.
His Egypt side were organised and hard to break down, and they beat world champions Italy at the 2009 Confederations Cup. The one gap on his record is the World Cup, after Egypt lost a play-off to Algeria for a place at the 2010 finals.
2. Charles Gyamfi, Ghana
Gyamfi is the only other coach to have won the Africa Cup of Nations three times. As a player, he was one of the first Ghanaians to play professionally in West Germany, with Fortuna Düsseldorf. As a coach, he led the Black Stars to back-to-back continental titles in 1963 and 1965.
Seventeen years later he did it again, winning the 1982 tournament in Libya after a penalty shootout against the hosts in the final. Few coaches anywhere have stayed at the top for so long.
3. Stephen Keshi, Nigeria
Keshi captained Nigeria to the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations, then became only the second man to win the tournament as both player and coach, after Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary. That second title came in 2013, when his Super Eagles beat Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final in Johannesburg.
Before that, he had taken Togo to their first World Cup by securing qualification for the 2006 finals. With Nigeria, he reached the last 16 of the 2014 World Cup, where they lost to France. Keshi died in 2016, aged 54, and is still remembered as the “Big Boss” of Nigerian football.
4. Walid Regragui, Morocco
Regragui oversaw the greatest World Cup run by any African team. Appointed only a few months before the 2022 tournament in Qatar, he led Morocco through a group containing Croatia and Belgium, then beat Spain on penalties and Portugal 1-0. That made them the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final.
Earlier that year he had won the CAF Champions League with Wydad Casablanca, along with the Moroccan league title. Before that, he guided FUS Rabat to their first league championship in 2016. His compact, quick-breaking teams have become a model for a new generation of African coaches.
5. Pitso Mosimane, South Africa
Mosimane is one of very few coaches to win the CAF Champions League three times. The first came with Mamelodi Sundowns in 2016, making them only the second South African club to lift the trophy. He also won five Premier Soccer League titles during his long spell at the club.
He moved to Al Ahly in 2020 and won the competition in each of his first two seasons, beating Cairo rivals Zamalek in the 2020 final and Kaizer Chiefs 3-0 in 2021. Al Ahly also finished third at two Club World Cups under him. He proved a local coach could build a continental power.
The coaches who came close
Several others have strong claims. Mahmoud El-Gohary won the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt in 1998 and took them to the 1990 World Cup. Aliou Cissé led Senegal to their first continental title at the 2021 tournament, played in early 2022, and to the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar later that year. Djamel Belmadi guided Algeria to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, beating Senegal in the final.
Between them, these coaches changed what African football expects of its own, and every new appointment on the continent is measured against them.
