Former Cameroon international Achille Webo, who was named assistant coach of Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir days ago, believes the move could open doors for other retiring African footballers and eventually create a brighter future for coaching on the continent.
Achille Webo, 37, hung up his boots last year at the end of a stint with Uruguayan side Nacional and had been taking courses in coaching. He played for Basaksehir between 2011 and 2013.
“You hardly see African coaches in Europe. I think it’s a situation we have to address. We play much of our professional career in Europe. That’s where we learn and acquire experience so I believe we can also share our knowledge there too,” Achille Webo told ACLSports.
“It’s a pride and honour as an African to sit on the bench of Basaksehir, my former club. I will do my best to help the club and in doing that I would like to open doors for other former African players who wish to branch off into coaching.
“If one, I mean just one African coach succeeds in Europe then the doors would open for others. And if we have enough quality African coaches in Europe, African teams would hire less foreign expatriates.”
The former striker served the Indomitable Lions between 2003 and 2014.