The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) will not renew the Spanish coach’s contract Xavier Clement, which ends next May, and the search for his replacement has already begun among neighboring countries, a source close to the organization reported to the local newspaper “The Libya Observer”.
According to this medium, the board of directors made the decision by majority after Clemente lost the two friendly matches against Kuwait and due to his inability to lead the team to the decisive phase of the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup and the 2022 World Cup, both held in Qatar.
The 71-year-old Basque coach started his second stage in the Libyan team last May, which he had previously led between 2013 and 2016. Under his leadership, the “Knights of the Mediterranean” won the first and only title in their history in 2014 during the African Championship of Nations (CHAN), played in South Africa, after a goalless draw and an agonizing penalty shootout against Ghana (4-3).
Unlike the African Cup of Nations (CAN), the most prestigious men’s tournament on the continent, in CHAN the national teams cannot include players who play in leagues outside the continent.
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After the dismissal of the former Spain coach in 2016, a total of seven local and international coaches have followed one another, including the Montenegrin Dejan Savićević and the Algerian Adel Amrouche.
The North African country is now preparing to play the two friendly matches against Mauritania and Mozambique next March in preparation for the qualifiers for the 34th edition of the African Cup of Nations, which will take place in June 2023 in the Ivory Coast.
Libya is a failed state, victim of chaos and civil war, since in 2011 NATO contributed to the victory of the different rebel groups against the despot Muammar al-Gaddafi, in power for 42 years.