Madagascar Coach Signs a New Deal

Madagascar national team head coach Nicolas Dupuis has signed a new four-year deal, the country’s football association announced on Thursday.

The 51-year-old joined the team in 2017 after taking over from compatriot Auguste Raux who had resigned following a string of poor performances.

Dupuis will also serve the new role as technical director, which comes as a reward after exceeding the country’s expectations in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where he guided the team to quarter-finals of the competition in the Bareas’ debut.

He will combine the new role with his job as coach of French fourth-tier side Fleury 91, where he still has a three-year deal.

In a post, the French club noted; “We are proud and congratulate, Nicolas Dupuis, for his renewal and new role as technical director.”

The new deal is believed to have necessitated by other teams who are believed to have been enquired about the coach.

Last month, the coach had been linked with a move to South Africa with a return to his former club AS Yzeurre having been muted too.

In his immediate assignment, the seasoned coach will be tasked again to guide Bareas to the next Africa Cup of Nations.

Madagascar will face Ivory Coast, Niger and Ethiopia in Group K of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.