Belgian Marc Wilmots named new Ivory Coast coach

Former Belgium national coach, Marc Wilmots, has been appointed the manager of Ivory Coast, the country’s football federation said on its website on Tuesday.

Wilmots, 48, was the Red Devils coach from 2012 to 2016, but was sacked following the elimination of the Belgians in the quarter-finals of the Euro tournament in France.

He succeeds Frenchman Michel Dussuyer, who quit as manager of the elephants after the 2015 African nations champions failed to progress from the group stage at the tournament played in January in Gabon.

This will be the first African adventure for Wimots who is expected to commit to a renewable two-year contract, according to a source close to the Ivorian Football Federation (IFF).

He is expected to arrive in Abidjan later on Tuesday before he is officially presented to the press on Wednesday.

Wilmots will have the task of qualifying Côte d’Ivoire for the 2018 World Cup and CAN-2019.

He will also have the task of infusing new blood into the squad that currently faces a number of its star players approaching or past either side of 30.