Following the Frenchman’s termination of his employment with Chamois Niortais, Sebastien Desabre has been named as the new head coach of D.R Congo.
The Argentinean Hector Cuper, who was fired in June after the Leopards lost their first two qualifiers for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, is succeeded by the 46-year-old.
Desabre was appointed as the coach of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Saturday, and Chamois Niortais threatened legal action, claiming that the club had “never been in communication” with the Central African nation’s football association (FECOFA).
However, the French Ligue 2 team revealed on Sunday that Desabre’s contract would be terminated.
“I am very happy to announce that I am the new coach of DR Congo,” Desabre tweeted.
“I thank the management of Chamois Niortais, the players, my staff, the whole club and the supporters for two rewarding years.”
Desabre previously oversaw club teams in the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt. He also served as Uganda’s manager for 18 months, including during the 2019 Nations Cup when the Cranes competed.
After the 2023 Nations Cup qualifiers were rescheduled for September, DR Congo won’t play another competitive match until March of the following year.
Desabre was born in Valence. His past managerial jobs include ES Cannet-Rocheville, ASEC Mimosas, Coton Sport and Espérance de Tunis. He was also head coach of Ismaily SC in the Egyptian Premier League. He has also coached Recreativo do Libolo, Dubai Club, JS Saoura and Wydad AC.
In December 2017, prior to the 2018 African Nations Championship competition, he signed a multiple-year contract with the Federation of Uganda Football Associations to manage the Uganda national team at a gross monthly salary.
Desabre replaced Milutin Sredojević, who left in July 2017 to become coach of the Orlando Pirates. On November 17, 2018, the Cranes qualified for the 2019 African Cup of Nations after defeating Cape Verde. In November 2018, the Uganda national team was nominated with five others for the CAF Men’s national team of the year award 2018.
Uganda qualified for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations from June 21 until July 19, 2019. The team advanced out of Group A, to the round of 16, in second position, behind group leader and tournament hosts, Egypt.
However, the team was eliminated after losing 1–0 to Senegal on July 5, 2019 The following day, in a statement released by FUFA in Kampala, Desabre’s contract with the Cranes was terminated by mutual consent despite the success.
On July 8, 2019, Desabre was announced as the new head coach of the Egyptian Premier League club Pyramids FC. On January 19, 2020, he rejoined Wydad AC.
