Patrick Vieira Appointed Senegal National Team Head Coach

Patrick Vieira, the former Arsenal and France captain, has been appointed as the new head coach of the Senegal men’s national team. The 50-year-old replaces Pape Thiaw, who was sacked following the country’s last-32 exit at the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Born in Senegal’s capital Dakar, Vieira will now manage the country of his birth, having moved to France aged eight before later winning over 100 caps for Les Bleus and lifting the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000. Senegal’s football federation (FSF) said the appointment reflects its “desire to strengthen its high-level technical staff” and is “perfectly aligned” with the nation’s sporting ambitions.

Details of Vieira’s contract and his starting date in the role are still being discussed. His first matches in charge of the Teranga Lions are expected to come next month in qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

Vieira joins the West Africans after leaving his role as Genoa head coach by mutual consent last November, with the team bottom of Serie A. He won eight and drew nine of his 26 games during the 2024-25 season to guide the Italian club to safety and a 13th-place finish. However, he left the club after managing just two wins in 25-26, with both of those victories coming in the Coppa Italia.

During his playing career, midfielder Vieira won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups at Arsenal, as well as silverware with AC Milan, Inter Milan and Manchester City. He retired in 2011 and became the manager of New York City in 2016 before returning to Europe with Nice and leading them to seventh in Ligue 1 in his first season.

Vieira was sacked in December 2020 and became Crystal Palace manager the following year, guiding the Eagles to 12th in the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-finals in 2021-22. He was dismissed in March 2023 after a 12-game winless run, before joining RC Strasbourg as their first appointment following a takeover by BlueCo, the company which owns Chelsea. He left Strasbourg by mutual consent in July 2024.

His predecessor Thiaw was at the centre of controversy in January when he ushered his Senegal team off the field when Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty in the 2025 Afcon final. The players eventually returned after a delay of about 17 minutes before Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved and Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner. However, Morocco were declared the winners of the tournament in March when the Confederation of African Football appeals board overturned the result of the final following Senegal’s walk-off.