Fabisch agrees to coach Benin

Fabisch coached Zimbabwe and Kenya in the 1990s

Benin have ended their search for a foreign coach after German Reinhard Fabisch agreed to coach the Squirrels on Friday.

The former Zimbabwe and Kenya handler will travel to the west African country on Monday to seal deal.

Fabisch will take charge of the Squirrels for next month's African Cup of Nations if he signs the deal.

"I will be flying to Benin this weekend to sign the contract on Monday," Fabisch told BBC Sport.

He was chosen ahead of Frenchmen Francois Domergue and Bernard Simondite because of his experiences of African football.

The country had also been in contact with the vastly experienced Philippe Troussier, who is known as the 'white witch doctor' because of his success with African teams.

But they backed out after reports emerged that Troussier had been shortlisted to coach the Australian national team.

Fabisch faces a tough task to get Benin through to the second round of the tournament to be held in Ghana.

They are in Group B along with African giants Nigeria and Ivory Coast, who lost to Egypt in the 2006 final, as well as Mali.

The African football showpiece runs from 20 January to 10 February.