ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Burkina Faso will replace coach Hubert Velud “as soon as possible” following the team’s disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
The Burkinabè Football Federation said Friday that its executive committee had decided the day before not to renew Velud’s contract. It did not name a successor.
Burkina Faso, which had made one final and two semifinal appearances since 2013, exited at the first hurdle in the knockout stage with a 2-1 defeat to Mali in the round of 16.
“The committee noted that results fell short of the expectations of the Burkinabè people and reassured football lovers of its desire that the national flag is raised at the highest level at future events,” the federation said in a statement.
Burkina Faso started the Africa Cup with a 1-0 win over Mauritania, then drew 2-2 with Algeria before losing its final group game 2-0 to Angola. It was enough to reach the knockout round, but Mali prevented further progress.
Burkina Faso was only stopped by eventual winner Senegal in the semifinals at the last edition of the tournament.
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