Former Sudanese National team coach, Hubert Velud has revealed he was sacked after qualifying the nation to the Africa Cup of Nations because of political reasons.
The French coach was dismissed four weeks before the Falcons of Jediane start their TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Sudan qualified to the continent’s flagship competition for the first time since 2013, and with Ethiopia they are the only two teams from the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Zone in the TotalEnergies AFCON 2021.
In a telephone interview on Comfort 95.1FM with veteran sports journalist, George Essien last weekend, Velud says he is proud to have qualified the North African country to the Nations Cup.
He also revealed that the new board of the Sudanese football federation did not want to work with him, hence, his dismissal.
“I left the Sudanese National Team because of political reasons,” Velud said.
“There was a new election of the Sudanese Federation and there is a new board and this board do not want to work with me. They want to work with another coach but I am very proud to qualify Sudan for AFCON because Sudan has not been at AFCON for eleven years.”
The 62-year old was relieved of his job after Sudan’s poor show at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup where they lost all the three group matches, conceding 10 goals and scoring none.
In the FIFA World Cup qualifiers alongside Morocco, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, Velud’s team finished bottom of the group with three points from six matches.
At the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 they lost 4-0 in the opening match to Algeria, before suffering a 5-0 defeat to Egypt and a 1-0 loss to Lebanon.
Hubert Velud was replaced by Burhan Tia as interim coach. Tia has worked in the Sudan Premier League for 26 years.
Sudan are placed in Group D alongside Nigeria, Egypt and Guinea-Bissau and will begin their campaign on Tuesday against Guinea-Bissau in Garoua.
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