Morocco coach French Herve Renard has been granted a contract extension until 2022 after helping the team reach the World Cup for the first time in 20 years, the country's football federation announced on Tuesday. Morocco qualified for the football's most prestigious showpiece for the first time since 1998 after securing an impressive 2-0 victory away to the Ivory Coast on their final qualifier a fortnight ago to lead their group. Renard's current deal expires in February 2018 but the 49-year-old will be now tied to Morocco until 2022. "Herve Renard has renewed his contract until 2022," Morocco's FA president Fouzi Lekjaa told reporters on Tuesday. "The contract extension will help him work under the best conditions with different objectives" "We reached the World Cup and we are confident that Renard is the right man to lead our national team in Russia." The Frenchman, who took charge of the Atlas Lions in February 2016, has realized his objectives by helping Morocco reach the African Nations Cup quarters early this year before steering them to a place at the World Cup. Renard is highly regarded in African, having won the Africa Cup of Nations twice in 2012 and 2015 with Zambia and Ivory Coast respectively. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
