Avram Grant stepped down as coach of the Zambia national soccer team on Wednesday, just eight weeks before the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco and following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
“I am proud to leave the team in a much better position than when I inherited it,” Grant wrote on Instagram.The former Israel, Ghana, and Chelsea coach oversaw three consecutive home losses in World Cup qualifying this year without scoring a goal, falling to Comoros, Morocco, and Niger.
Zambia will face Morocco and Comoros again in its AFCON group, with the tournament set to begin on Dec. 21.Grant, who led Zambia for nearly three years, guided the team to back-to-back AFCON qualifications, though they did not progress past the group stage in the last edition held in Ivory Coast.
The Football Association of Zambia has not yet named a successor.Zambia, which won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012, has never competed in a men’s World Cup.
