Ivorian former Cote D’Ivoire tactician Francois Zahoui has been named the head coach of the Niger national team.

The 52-year-old takes over the national team after a period of six-months where The Mena have not had a manager in charge, leaving the side without much direction.

Previous German coach Gernot Rohr was at the helm of the Niger team until late last year, and the authorities in the country have been aiming to land the services of their new Ivorian coach for some time, with negotiations stopped by the sports ministry due to the department’s aim to secure a local coach rather than one from another African country.

They have now decided against that objective, seeing the opportunity to sign a contract with Zahoui after he was fired by Guinean club AS Kaloum at the beginning of May after they were eliminated from the CAF Champions League.

Zahoui was coach of the Cote D’Ivoire national team when the Elephants progressed to the final of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), before losing to Zambia in a penalty shootout.

He was one of only a few local coaches who was in charge of a national team at that AFCON, and he did well to reach the final with the side, only to fall at the last hurdle.

His new adventure with the Niger national team will begin in June with a 2017 Nations Cup qualifier against Namibia, while future qualifiers in the coming months will see The Mena facing Senegal and Burundi in Group K.