Rabat – Morocco assistant coach Joao Sacramento has revealed that his contract includes a clause allowing him to leave the national team if he receives an offer to become a head coach.
However, the Portuguese tactician insisted that he would not end his time with the Atlas Lions simply because an opportunity becomes available, stressing that any future move would need to involve the right project.
“I have a contract with Morocco,” Sacramento told Portuguese newspaper Record. “First of all, I would like to thank Morocco for allowing me to fulfill a dream, which was to participate in a World Cup.”
Sacramento joined Morocco’s technical staff in March after the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) appointed Mohamed Ouahbi as head coach.
The federation lists the 37-year-old as Ouahbi’s first assistant, with former Morocco international Youssef Hadji serving as second assistant.
The Portuguese coach explained that he was pursuing a head-coaching career when Morocco invited him to join the national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
“When Morocco invited me in March to join them in the World Cup, I was working as a coach,” he said. “But at that moment, something inside me said that I could not miss this opportunity.”
Sacramento described the decision as carefully considered rather than a step backwards in his career.
He called his experience with Morocco one of the most enriching periods of his professional life and said he would remain grateful for the opportunity.
Head-coaching ambition remains
Sacramento said he was open with Moroccan officials from the beginning about his long-term ambition to work again as a head coach.
The Portuguese coach said both sides agreed to include a clause permitting him to leave if a suitable head-coaching offer arrives.
The FRMF has not publicly disclosed the details or duration of his contract.
“I will not give up this experience with Morocco for just anything,” Sacramento said. “It has to be the right project.
“It has to be something structured, something that makes sense and, above all, a project with which I feel a connection,” he added.
Sacramento previously took charge of Austrian club LASK in June 2025, signing an initial contract through the summer of 2027.
His first permanent senior head-coaching spell ended in September of that year when he and the club agreed to terminate the contract.
Before becoming a head coach, Sacramento built much of his reputation as an assistant coach. His career included spells with Lille, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma, Paris Saint-Germain and Al-Duhail, working alongside coaches including Jose Mourinho and Christophe Galtier.
