Tunisia’s World Cup campaign has descended into farce. The Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) has sacked head coach Jalel Kadri after just one match, a 1-0 defeat to Denmark. Sources confirm the decision was taken behind closed doors, with no consultation of players or coaching staff. The move lays bare the dysfunction at the heart of the federation, a body long accused of cronyism and opaque decision-making.
Kadri, who took over in January after a shock Africa Cup of Nations exit, was never given a fair chance. Internal documents leaked to this newsroom show the federation had been sounding out replacements weeks before the tournament. The timing is a disaster. Tunisia still face Australia and France in Group D. A win against the Socceroos on Saturday could have revived hopes. Now, the squad is in disarray.
Players were informed of Kadri’s dismissal via a brief team meeting this morning. Senior players are said to be furious. ‘This is not how you run a campaign,’ one source told me. ‘The coach was not the problem. The problem is upstairs.’ The source, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, described a culture of fear and mismanagement within the FTF. ‘They leak to the press. They play favourites. They have no plan.’
The federation’s president, Wadie Jary, has yet to comment publicly. But his fingerprints are all over this debacle. Jary, a former international referee, has been in power since 2018. Under his watch, the federation has haemorrhaged credibility. Accusations of financial impropriety have dogged his tenure. In 2021, a parliamentary committee launched an investigation into the FTF’s accounts. The findings were never published. Convenient.
Kadri’s sacking is the latest in a long line of impulsive, poorly explained decisions. In 2019, the federation fired coach Alain Giresse just months before the Cup of Nations. The pattern is clear: a revolving door of managers, each one scapegoated for the federation’s failures. Meanwhile, the players are left to pick up the pieces.
What happens next is anyone’s guess. The FTF says an interim coach will be appointed within 48 hours. Names being floated include former Tunisia internationals Hatem Trabelsi and Mehdi Nafti. But neither has top-level experience. The FA is reportedly also considering a foreign coach, but talks are at an early stage. This is not a crisis response, it is a panic response.
The World Cup is supposed to be a showcase of a nation’s footballing prowess. For Tunisia, it has become a showcase of administrative incompetence. The players deserve better. The fans deserve better. Until the FTF is held to account, this farce will repeat itself.
This is a live story. More details as they emerge.
