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Former Chelsea, Portsmouth and West Ham manager Avram Grant has been sacked by Zambia after failing to qualify for next year's World Cup finals.
Grant, 70, spent a season at Stamford Bridge during the 2007-08 campaign, guiding Chelsea to the Champions League final against Manchester United which they dramatically lost on penalties.
He later held spells at Portsmouth and West Ham during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons respectively, suffering relegation with both clubs before moving abroad.
The Israeli, who took charge of Zambia in December 2022, was sacked by the country's FA on Wednesday after a disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign.
Next summer's World Cup, staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico, will feature 48 teams — 16 more than the previous tournament in Qatar.
Zambia, who had hoped to reach the World Cup finals for the first time in their history next summer, only finished fourth in Group E, 15 points behind winners Morocco.
Avram Grant has been sacked by Zambia after failing to qualify for next summer's World Cup
The Israeli, pictured with Frank Lampard, was manager of Chelsea during the 2007-08 season
Grant, 70, twice led Zambia to the Africa Cup on Nations finals during his three-year spell
The country's FA released a statement on Wednesday confirming that Grant, who twice led Zambia to the Africa Cup on Nations finals during his three-year spell, had been dismissed from his duties.
'The FAZ has agreed to mutually separate with Zambia Senior Men's National Team coach Avram Grant,' general secretary Machacha Shepande said in a statement.
'FAZ wishes Mr Grant the best of luck in his future endeavours. The rest of the details will be communicated in due course.
'For now we can only thank Mr Grant for his contribution to the Zambian game.'
Zambia came closest to World Cup qualification in 1994, boasting one of the best teams in Africa at the time.
Ahead of the 1994 tournament in the USA, Zambia were strong favourites to qualify, but their promising campaign ended in heartbreak and tragedy.
While travelling to play Senegal in a qualifier in 1993, a total of 30 players, coaches and staff tragically died in a plane crash off the coast of Gabon, wiping out most of Zambia's golden generation.
Despite rebuilding the team quickly, Zambia narrowly missed out on World Cup qualification, finishing just one point behind Morocco.
Grant, who has now left the 14th separate managerial job of his 53-year career, also managed Ghana for three years between 2014 and 2017.
