Patrick Vieira named head coach of Senegal men’s national team

Patrick Vieira is going home. The former Arsenal and France captain, born in Dakar on June 23, 1976, was officially appointed head coach of the Senegal men’s national team on August 17, 2026, following an extraordinary meeting of the Senegalese Football Federation.

The appointment closes a chapter of uncertainty that opened when Senegal’s previous coach, Pape Thiaw, was dismissed on July 11, 2026, after the team’s premature exit from the FIFA World Cup in the round of 32.

A homecoming with weight behind it

Vieira is expected to sign a four-year contract tied directly to the federation’s long-term ‘Vision 2030’ initiative, a structural program aimed at elevating Senegalese football from grassroots development through to senior international competition.

Vieira co-founded the Diambars football academy in Saly in 2003, an institution built on the dual commitment of academic education and elite football training. That project, launched while he was still an active player at Arsenal, has spent more than two decades feeding young Senegalese talent into professional football.

What Vieira brings to the role

Vieira’s playing career needs little introduction. He was a generational midfielder, the engine of Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles at Arsenal, a World Cup and European Championship winner with France.

His most recent post was at Genoa in Italy’s Serie A, where he departed in November 2025. Before that, he managed Crystal Palace in the Premier League and Nice in Ligue 1. Vieira began his coaching career at Manchester City’s academy before taking on more prominent managerial roles across Europe.