Kolo Toure travelled to the Club World Cup to assist Manchester City but his appointment has now been made permanent.
Kolo Toure and Phil Foden
Kolo Toure's promotion to the first-team set-up at Manchester City has been made permanent
Kolo Toure's promotion to assistant coach at Manchester City has been made permanent after he made a positive impression during the Club World Cup.
The former City centre-back stepped up from assisting Oliver Reiss with the Under-18s as Pep Guardiola assembled his coaching staff for the tournament in the United States.
Guardiola was left short of staff after Juanma Lillo, Inigo Dominguez, and Carlos Vicens left at the end of the previous season. Former Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders was added as an assistant coach, and James French joined directly from Liverpool as a set-piece coach.
Toure's promotion was initially only for the Club World Cup, but it has now become permanent. The 44-year-old's appointment was confirmed in time for the return of players for pre-season training on July 28.
Director of football Hugo Viana said Toure's connections with the club were a key point in his promotion, but that his work with the age-group teams had also impressed. He will now form a link between the academy and the first-team for young players making the step up.
“We’re delighted to permanently add Kolo to our first team coaching staff," said Viana. “Not only does he bring his immensely precious experience at football’s elite level, but he also has a deep connection with Manchester City and a deep knowledge of the club.
"We've also been hugely impressed with his work and success with our Under-18s, and by adding him into our senior staff permanently, this will only strengthen the transition for players in our academy into the first team.
“As we already saw throughout his time with Pep Guardiola, Pep Lijnders and James French this summer, his massive personality of optimism and positivity is hugely infectious and we’re already looking forward to his work moving forward.”
Toure made 102 appearances as a player for City between 2009 and 2013 and also played for Arsenal and Liverpool in a distinguished career.
His coaching experience began with a role with the Ivory Coast Under-23s, before he joined Brendan Rodgers' staff at Celtic as a technical assistant in September 2017.
He followed Rodgers to Leicester City as a first-team coach and took his first managerial job in November 2022, taking charge at Wigan Athletic. However, he was dismissed after just nine games in charge.
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