Chiquinho Conde landed in Maputo yesterday, Sunday (04), from Portugal, where he had been since the "Mambas" beat Guinea Conakry (1-0) on June 10, in a match played in Morocco and counting towards the fourth round of Group "G" in the African qualifying zone for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States of America, Mexico and Canada.

After that game, Chiquinho Conde stayed in Portugal to deal with social issues, mainly related to his daughter's health.

The coach's return to the country's capital is aimed at concluding the negotiations that are underway with the Mozambican Football Federation (FMF), with the aim of renewing his contract to continue as national coach of the "Mambas".

The coach's contract, it should be remembered, expired last Wednesday, July 31, and on June 27 the FMF said in a statement that it was interested in renewing Conde's contract to continue at the helm of the senior national team.

Since then, and after several rounds of negotiations via the Zoom platform, the parties have been unable to reach a consensus.

According to a Challenge newspaperLast week, the FMF's negotiating team, made up of Jorge Bambo and António Chambal, vice-president of Administration and Finance and Advisor to the Board of Directors respectively, gave in to some of the coach's demands, while abandoning some of the clauses it had proposed in the new contract.

As a result, Chiquinho Conde has only agreed to sign a contract valid for two years to coach the Mambas, as opposed to the 12-month contract proposed by the FMF.

At Speaking at a press conference in June, FMF president Feizal Sidat accused Chiquinho Conde of of being "ungrateful", having criticized him for violating his employment contract by making accusations against his "employer" in public and on social media, and claiming only for himself and the players the credit for the 'mambas' victories, leaving out "all the collective work".

Sidat said that Chiquinho Conde disrespected him, in the presence of the national team players, by demanding ice in the locker room after the game in which Mozambique secured access to the final phase of the African Nations Championship (CHAN), contested only by players from the continent.

He also said that the coach had also humiliated Paíto, the FMF's current vice-president for national teams, by banning him from entering the team bus and locker room.