Herve Renard's last match in charge of Saudi Arabia ended in defeat to Bolivia in Jeddah on Tuesday. AFP
Herve Renard's last match in charge of Saudi Arabia ended in defeat to Bolivia in Jeddah on Tuesday. AFP
Herve Renard's last match in charge of Saudi Arabia ended in defeat to Bolivia in Jeddah on Tuesday. AFP
Herve Renard's last match in charge of Saudi Arabia ended in defeat to Bolivia in Jeddah on Tuesday. AFP

Herve Renard leaves Saudi Arabia role to take over at France women's team


Steve Luckings
  • English
  • Arabic

The Saudi Arabia Football Federation has agreed to terminate the contract of head coach Herve Renard so he can take over the France women's team ahead of this year's Women's World Cup.

The 54-year-old Frenchman was appointed Saudi Arabia coach in July 2019 and led the country to its greatest ever result when they beat eventual champions Argentina in their opening game at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

SAFF said in a statement on Twitter that it had agreed to terminate Renard's contract at his request, adding that it wished him "every success in his future career".

"[Renard] has an offer from the French federation and expressed his desire to take this opportunity," SAFF president Yasser Al Misehal told Saudi Sports Channel (SSC).

"We were informed four days before the current international window and I received a letter from the French Federation, and consulted with a number of members of the board of directors, and we decided to accept this request."

Renard succeeds as France women's coach Corinne Diacre, who was sacked by the French Football Federation earlier this month after captain Wendie Renard said she would not play at the World Cup if the coach remained in charge.

Ranked fifth in the world, France will be looking to win a first World Cup at this year's showpiece, which is being co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia from July 20-August 20.

Renard's last match in charge of Saudi Arabia ended in defeat on Tuesday as the Green Falcons fell 2-1 to Bolivia in a friendly in Jeddah.

After the match the former Morocco coach thanked Saudi Arabia for their support during his tenure but said he felt he had taken the team as far as he could.

"I would like to thank everybody in Saudi for their support during almost four years," he told reporters.

"I think I did the maximum with the team. I can't reach another level so I prefer to be honest with everybody. Thank you again, it was fantastic time."

Al Misehal said SAFF would take its time to consider Renard's successor with the national team's next match in September.

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

Updated: March 29, 2023, 6:20 AM