Kolo Toure with the appointment, becomes the first African to manage a senior men’s football team in England
By Kehinde Okeowo
Wigan Athletic FC have announced that the football club have appointed former Arsenal and Cote d’Ivoire defender, Kolo Touré as their new manager.
This was made known via a statement issued by the club on Tuesday morning.
In the statement, the second-tier English club also revealed that the 41-year-old Ivorian was appointed on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
Kolo Touré, who is the older brother of Barcelona midfielder, Yaya Touré, replaced Wigan’s former manager Leam Richardson who was saved last month.
The statement read, “We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Kolo Touré as the Club’s new First Team Manager! Welcome to Wigan.
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With the appointment, he became the first African to manage a senior men’s football team in England in what would be his first job in charge of a senior team as manager.
Prior to the job, he was the First Team Coach as part of Brendan Rodgers’ coaching staff at Leicester City.
Reacting to his appointment, Touré said: “I would like to thank all of the fans, players and staff of Leicester City Football Club, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, Susan Whelan, Jon Rudkin and of course Brendan Rodgers for making me feel so welcome for so many years.
“The experiences that I have amassed under Brendan Rodgers have been invaluable and I’m sure they will help me in this next chapter of my career. I am extremely proud to be named Manager of Wigan Athletic. Wigan Athletic is a big club with hugely passionate fans. Together, we can continue to make the right steps forward.”
He added: “I’m excited to work with this talented group of players and staff, and immensely look forward to my time ahead.”
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations winner, played for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Celtic, winning multiple trophies in more than 300 appearances.
He won the Premier League and FA Cup twice, the FA Community Shield thrice, and the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup once during his 18-year career.