Soccer-Congo name Belgian Put as new coach

Congo's football federation have appointed Belgian Paul Put as their new coach, handing him a two-year contract ahead of the September start of African group phase qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. Put, who served a three-year ban for his involvement in a Belgian match-fixing scandal, has been tasked with securing qualification for Qatar.

Congo's football federation have appointed Belgian Paul Put as their new coach, handing him a two-year contract ahead of the September start of African group phase qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. Put, who served a three-year ban for his involvement in a Belgian match-fixing scandal, has been tasked with securing qualification for Qatar. They share a group with Namibia, Senegal and Togo.

The 65-year-old moved to Africa in 2008 after his ban in Belgium, where he had coached at Lierse. He also coached Gambia for three years before taking over Burkina Faso, who he led to a surprise runners-up finish at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals.

He has since served as national coach of Jordan, Kenya and Guinea and also had club stints in Algeria, Bangladesh and China. Put is the latest in a flurry of new national team appointments across Africa after the conclusion of the Cup of Nations qualifiers in March and the start of the World Cup preliminaries. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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