Amuneke lands Tanzania coaching job

The Tanzania Football Federation has appointed former Super Eagles forward and U-17 World Cup-winning coach Emmanuel Amuneke as the new head coach of their national team, the Taifa Stars, on a two-year contract.

The former Barcelona winger and 1996 Olympic Games gold medallist replaces  coach Salum Mayanga, who had been in charge of the team since 2017.

“I am happy to start this new job and work hard so that we can achieve a lot together,” Amuneke said after his unveiling in Dar es Salam on Monday.

His first competitive game in charge of the Taifa Stars will be their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uganda in September.

Amuneke’s most recent coaching  job was a short stint with Sudan Premier League side Al Khartoum SC.

He was the assistant coach when the Golden Eaglets won the U-17 World Cup trophy for a record fourth time in the United Arab Emirates in 2013, before leading the team to a fifth title in Chile two years later.

His successes at U-17 level saw him promoted to coach the U-20 side the Flying Eagles but he failed to steer the team to the African U-20 championship, which serves as the qualifiers for the U-20 World Cup

TFF president Wallace Karia said Amuneke would also oversee the other Tanzania teams, including the U-17 and U-20 sides.

“We shall have coaches for the other teams, but Amuneke will be the head starting with the 2019 African U-17 qualifiers which kick off in Dar es Salaam this weekend.

“We are happy to have Amuneke who has played at the top and has a lot of experience as a coach. We have picked our very own from Africa,” Karia told BBC.

With Amuneke’s selection, African football witnessed two major managerial appointments on Monday. Former Ajax, AC Milan and Real Madrid star Clarence Seedorf has also taken charge of reigning African kings Cameroon

Seedorf, who represented the Netherlands at the 1998 World Cup, takes over from the Belgian Hugo Broos, who guided Cameroon to continental glory at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Joining Seedorf as his assistant is fellow Dutch icon Patrick Kluivert, who served as assistant coach of the Netherlands when they finished third at Brazil 2014.