Seven coaches in roughly a year. That's the number you need to understand before anything else about Tunisian football right now. Moin Chaabani is the latest, handed a four-year contract through 2030 by the Tunisian Football Federation — an unusually long commitment for a federation that's been burning through managers like they're disposable.
The 45-year-old arrives with a genuine CV. He just won Renaissance de Berkane their first-ever Moroccan league title in 2024-25 and lifted the CAF Confederation Cup in the same campaign. Before that, two CAF Champions League titles with Espérance. On paper, this is a serious appointment — not a caretaker, not a panic hire.
The mess Chaabani is inheriting
The context, though, is grim. Tunisia's 2026 World Cup was a slow-motion disaster. Sabri Lamouchi was sacked after a 5-1 opening loss to Sweden, with Hervé Renard stepping in as emergency cover for the final two group games. It didn't help. A 4-0 defeat to Japan. A 3-1 loss to the Netherlands. Three games, three defeats — the first time Tunisia had ever been whitewashed at a World Cup.
Renard, for his part, couldn't be expected to perform miracles in a fortnight with a squad in freefall. The structural problems ran deeper than one coach could fix in a matter of days.
Chaabani will be taking charge of a national team for the first time in his career, which is either a concern or an opportunity depending on how you look at it. He has clear tactical credentials at club level, but international management is a different animal — less training time, more political noise, and the squad depth problem doesn't go away.
September qualifiers come fast
There's no settling-in period here. Tunisia open their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign in September, placed in Group H alongside Uganda, Libya and Botswana. On paper, that's a manageable group — but Tunisia have earned the right to be doubted, and their qualifying odds will reflect the uncertainty around a new coach with no senior international experience walking into a squad that just lost every match at a World Cup.
The four-year deal at least signals that the FTF wants to stop the revolving door. Whether Chaabani can hold it shut is the only question that matters now.
