Rabat – French football coach Herve Renard Patrice Beaumelle, who has been coaching the Mouloudia d’Alger club in the Algerian football league since March 2023, has converted to Islam.
Beaumelle, who is the former assistant coach of Herve Renard, officially announced his conversion today at the Djenane Mabrouk mosque in El Harrach, a suburb of Algiers, according to local reports.
He recited the Shahada, the Muslim profession of faith, after Friday prayers.
A widely shared online video showed Beaumelle at the mosque expressing his happiness and honor at joining the Islamic faith.
Speculation about Beaumelle’s conversion had been circulating for over a week before his official announcement.
When asked about it during an interview with Ennahar TV on April 15, Beaumelle neither confirmed nor denied the rumors. He asserted that he alone should speak about his faith.
He criticized the spread of such personal information without his consent and emphasized his right to privacy.
Beaumelle’s career in football spans both playing and coaching roles. As a player, he was a defender, primarily with youth teams at Stade Beaucairois and Nîmes.
However, his prominence comes from his coaching career. He has notably served as an assistant coach alongside Herve Renard for various teams, including the Angola national team, USM Alger, Zambia national team, and Ivory Coast national team.
Beaumelle has also taken on managerial roles, such as his tenure as head coach of the Ivory Coast national team and his current position as the head coach of the
Algerian club.
