AFCON 2023: Crises Rocks Senegal Camp As FA Owes Aliou Cisse 6 Months Salary

• Aliou Cisse has not received a salary for the last six months
• Cisse led Senegal to their first Africa Cup of Nations title in 2021
• The former Teranga Lions captain was appointed Senegal coach in 2015

Senegal’s bid to defend their Africa Cup of Nations title in Ivory Coast has been hampered after the latest reports suggest head coach Aliou Cisse is being owed for six months.

The former Teranga Lions captain has been in charge of the national team since 2015 and led them to their first-ever AFCON title in 2021 after they defeated Egypt via penalties in the final.

According to Khel Now, Cisse, including his entire coaching crew, who are bidding to take the West African nation to another AFCON tournament in January, has not been paid by the Senegal FA for six months.

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The Senegal gaffer currently earns a whopping €30,000 monthly, and his total salary is owed by the FA amounting to €180,000, which is expected to be paid before the AFCON kicks off on January 13.

Cisse is presently one of the longest-serving managers in African football, but the scandal of his salaries could determine if he would continue with the Senegal national team in the future or leave.

Senegal picked as AFCON favourites

Meanwhile, Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Nigeria and Cameroun have been identified as the top contenders for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations by expert African pundits, Guardian reports.

The four-man panel comprising Charles Ogundiya, Onyinye Ogu, Peter Edema, and Africa’s first female pidgin commentator, Tracy Chapele, picked the five countries as the favourites to emerge as AFCON 2023 winners.

Senegal are the present champions of the competition and Aliou Cisse’s team will be hoping to retain the tournament they won for the first time in their history two years ago in Cameroon.

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Who is Aliou Cisse?

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Aliou Cisse was a former midfielder and defender for EFL teams Birmingham City, Portsmouth, and the Senegal national team.

He took over from Alan Giresse as the head coach of the Lions of Teranga in 2015 and has guided the team to qualifying for the World Cup twice, consecutively, and winning their first AFCON title.

When he was nine years old, his family emigrated to France and settled in Champigny-sur-Marne. The icon dreamt of playing for PSG as a child and played for Lille and Sedan before achieving his vision in 1998.