Pape Thiaw has been dismissed as head coach of the Senegal national football team, ending a tenure that managed to fit both a continental title and a spectacular unraveling into roughly 18 months of work.
The sacking arrives in the wake of Senegal’s early exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a result that triggered public petitions calling for his removal and, ultimately, action from the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football.
Thiaw was appointed to the role on December 13, 2024, stepping into what is one of African football’s most scrutinized jobs.
He did, to his credit, deliver. Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2026, giving him a trophy that most coaches in world football never get near.
Administrative chaos inside the FSF started eating into his authority almost immediately after the AFCON victory. Thiaw reportedly went unpaid for five months leading into the World Cup, a detail that is less a footnote and more a flashing warning sign about the organizational environment he was operating in.
