CHAIRMAN: DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: DR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

Sports / Football

Ecuador appoints former Qatar coach Felix Sanchez

Published: 12 Mar 2023 - 02:54 pm | Last Updated: 12 Mar 2023 - 02:56 pm
In this file photo taken on November 28, 2022, Qatar's Spanish coach Felix Sanchez looks on during a training session at the Aspire Zone Training Site in Doha, on the eve of the Qatar 2022 World Cup football match between Netherlands and Qatar. Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP

In this file photo taken on November 28, 2022, Qatar's Spanish coach Felix Sanchez looks on during a training session at the Aspire Zone Training Site in Doha, on the eve of the Qatar 2022 World Cup football match between Netherlands and Qatar. Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP

AFP

Quito: Spaniard Felix Sanchez, the former Qatar coach, is taking over the Ecuador team, the national football federation (FEF) announced on Saturday.

"Good luck and success professor!" the FEF tweeted.

Sanchez, 47, replaces the Argentine Gustavo Alfaro, 60, who left after Ecuador was eliminated in the group stage at the World Cup in Qatar.

The Tricolor finished third in Group A with just one victory, 2-0 over hosts Qatar, then coached by Sanchez.

Sanchez started as a coach in the Barcelona youth academy aged 21. He moved to the Aspire Academy in Qatar in 2006 and coached national age group teams before taking over the national team in 2017.

His first games in charge of Ecuador will be two friendlies against Australia in Sydney and Melbourne on March 24 and 28.