Yaya Touré Becomes First African Coach to Reach the Champions League League Phase

Yaya Touré has become the first African coach to lead a club into the UEFA Champions League league phase after his side, Slovan Bratislava, beat Celje 2-1 after extra time on Wednesday.

Slovan completed a 3-2 aggregate victory in the final qualifying round in Slovenia, with Cristian Martínez scoring the decisive goal in the 100th minute.

Yaya Touré has become the first African manager to take a team to the Champions League group stage 📈

The dressing room scenes last night 🙌

(via @SKSlovan) pic.twitter.com/D4i5Yf4urh

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 27, 2026

The result gives Touré a place in the UEFA Champions League only weeks into his first senior managerial job.

The former Ivory Coast captain took charge of the Slovak champions in June and has now guided them through the final stage of qualifying and into European football’s main competition.

Touré Makes History

Slovan went into the second leg with the tie level after a 1-1 draw in Bratislava.

They took control of the return fixture when Andraž Šporar put Touré’s side ahead in the 18th minute. Celje responded before half-time when Svit Šešlar converted a penalty to make it 1-1.

Neither team could find another goal during the 90 minutes, sending the tie into extra time.

Martínez then scored for Slovan in the 100th minute to put the team ahead again. Celje pushed for another equaliser but Slovan held on to complete the 3-2 aggregate win.

The victory also extended Slovan’s unbeaten start to the season. The club are the defending Slovak champions and had won their opening four league matches before facing Celje. 

From Egbo to Touré

Touré’s achievement builds on a milestone reached by another Nigerian coach six years ago.

In 2020, Nigerian coach Ndubuisi Egbo led KF Tirana to the Albanian league title and Champions League qualification. Egbo became the first African coach to lead a European club to a domestic league title and then into Champions League qualifying.

Tirana, however, did not reach the competition’s main phase.

That puts Touré in a new position. He has become the first African coach to take a club into the Champions League’s main league phase.

The competition no longer uses the old group-stage format. The 2026/27 edition has 36 clubs in one league table, with each team playing eight matches before the knockout rounds.

Touré will therefore have the opportunity to manage against some of Europe’s biggest clubs in his first season as a senior head coach.

From Champions League Winner to Head Coach

Touré is not new to the Champions League.

He won the competition as a player with Barcelona in the 2008/09 season and made 70 appearances in the tournament during his playing career. He is ranked seventh among African players for Champions League appearances.

His playing career also took him to Manchester City, where he became one of the most recognisable midfielders in the Premier League.

Touré won three Premier League titles with City and was part of the team that ended the club’s long wait for the English top-flight title in 2012. He also won the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast in 2015.

He retired from professional football in 2020 and then began building his coaching career.

Touré worked as an assistant at clubs including Standard Liège and also had a coaching role with the Saudi Arabia national team. He later worked with Tottenham Hotspur’s academy before Slovan gave him his first senior head-coaching opportunity.

Slovan Will Now Face Europe’s Biggest Clubs

The qualification gives Touré a much bigger challenge.

The Champions League draw took place in Monaco on Thursday, with Slovan learning the teams they will face in the league phase. Among them are defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.

The 36 clubs in the league phase will each play eight matches, four at home and four away. The top eight teams will qualify directly for the round of 16, while teams finishing from ninth to 24th will enter the knockout play-offs.

Slovan have already achieved what they needed from the qualifying rounds.

Now Touré will have to prepare his team for a different level of opposition.

For African football, the record is already secured. For Touré, the next chapter begins when Slovan walk onto the Champions League stage.