Gabon appoints Alain Giresse as DTN and Sébastien Migné as head coach | OneFootball

Alain Giresse is returning to Gabon as technical director, with Sébastien Migné appointed head coach of the Panthers. Migné arrives on the back of an impressive World Cup with Haiti.

According to L'Équipe, the announcement came in an unlikely setting. Brice Oligui Nguema, Gabon's president, rose to speak at the Elysée last Monday, a guest of honour of Emmanuel and Brigitte Marcon, and announced Giresse's DTN role.

Giresse was present at the official dinner, as was Claude Le Roy, newly named Congo coach and a key figure in France's ties with Africa. For Giresse, it marks a return to where he began his African coaching career between 2006 and 2010, and he has said he kept strong ties and that the experience changed him as a person.

The former member of France's carré magique, runner-up for the 1982 Ballon d'Or behind Paolo Rossi, has also maintained links elsewhere, notably in Senegal with former federation president Augustin Senghor.

The federation has also turned to Migné, who led Haiti back to the World Cup for the first time in 52 years. He previously worked with Cameroon as Rigobert Song's assistant at the 2022 World Cup, having earlier served under Claude Le Roy before taking charge himself.

Migné has signed a four-year contract. His brief is to qualify Gabon for the next Africa Cup of Nations and, with hope, to reach the World Cup. AFCON qualifying starts in September, with the finals due next June, from 19 June to 18 July, in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.

Source: L'Équipe