Ethiopia have appointed former Namibia coach Tom Saintfiet as the new man in charge of their national team. His first game in charge will be a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at home to Nigeria next month.

The 38-year-old Belgian replaces Briton Iffy Onuora, who was dismissed last month after falling out with the Ethiopia Football Federation (EFF).

Ethiopia are currently third in Group B of the qualifiers with three points, behind Guinea and Nigeria.
In their last qualifier in March Ethiopia lost 4-0 to Nigeria in Abuja.

Last year Saintfiet was at the centre of two controversies when he left Namibia to coach Zimbabwe.
First the Namibians claimed that Saintfiet had not resigned from his job with them. He was then refused a work permit to take charge of Zimbabwe, despite signing a contract with the countty’s football association.

He never not got the necessary clearance to work in Zimbabwe and eventually went to coach a club in Jordan.