Guinea coach Paulo Duarte faces CAF scrutiny over missed press conference

Guinea national team coach Paulo Duarte is facing potential disciplinary action from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after missing a mandatory pre-match press conference. The incident occurred ahead of Guinea’s match against South Africa in the opening round of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.

Duarte reportedly cited illness as the reason for his absence, though he was later observed participating in the team’s final training session. Addressing the controversy, Duarte criticized the scheduling of the media event, noting it was set only 15 minutes before a scheduled training session. He stated, “The training was at 3:00 p.m. and the press conference, 15 minutes before. I must train, I must prepare. Guinea pays me, CAF does not pay me, so I apologize for that.”

Guinea lost their opening qualifying match 2-1 against South Africa at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.