Former Chelsea and Ghana manager Avram Grant has been named as the new head coach of African side Zambia.

Grant, who has also coached West Ham and the Ghana national team, signed a two-year deal and will take over for Aljosa Asanovic, who quit because he didn’t agree with the pay.

The 67-year-first old’s job is to get Zambia into the Africa Cup of Nations in 2023. The country hasn’t been able to go to the last three tournaments.

Zambia is in the same qualifying group as Ivory Coast, Comoros, and Lesotho. In 2012, Zambia was the only African champion, and FIFA ranks them 88th right now.

“I’m very happy to be here. I think Zambia has potential,” Grant told a news conference.

Grant took Ghana to the final of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations where they lost to Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout.

At the 2017 edition, Ghana finished fourth.

Zambia’s football federation boss Andrew Kamanga expressed confidence that “we will be back among the elite of the African game”.

He said appointing Grant signals “a new dawn” for Zambian football.

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