THE COACHLESS ONE
SAFA CONTINUE TO DELAY ANNOUNCEMENT
12-PAGE PULLOUT INSIDE
The South African Football Association (Safa) appear to be continuing to struggle to seal a deal for a new head coach for Bafana Bafana, with little sign yesterday that the long-running saga was any closer to being finally resolved.
Safa president Danny Jordaan’s hopes that a new coach would be in place by the end of February are now two weeks past being realised, and the chance of snapping up heavyweights like Carlos Queiroz and Herve Renard has surely come and gone.
SuperSport United coach Stuart Baxter is another name to have been heavily linked to the position and Safa head of communications Dominic Chimhavi did tell The Citizen newspaper last week that they had already finalised a new coach, with just a few loose ends to be tied up.
If Baxter is Safa’s man, an announcement may have been delayed by the fact that he spent this weekend in Sudan, his SuperSport United side involved in a Caf Confederation Cup clash with AlAhly Shendi.
Jordaan could not be reached by Phakaaathi yesterday, and neither could Safa CEO Dennis Mumble or even Chimhavi. SuperSport CEO Stan Matthews did not respond to Phakaaathi’s request for an interview.
The Safa president may also have other matters on his mind as he is attempting to get a seat on the Confederation of African Football’s Executive Committee, with the elections taking place this week in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Jordaan has already withdrawn his candidacy for a seat on the Fifa Council, purportedly so he can concentrate on winning a seat on the Caf executive.
Bafana caretaker coach Owen Da Gama is set to take charge of the two friendlies against Guinea-Bissau and Angola at the end of the month.
He has already named his squad, including 26-year-old Dutch-based midfielder Kamohelo Mokotjo.
There are questions over Mokotjo’s eligibility. Because he took Dutch citizenship in November, he would ordinarily have had to renounce his South African citizenship. Safa were still busy attempting to resolve the situation yesterday.
“According to the embassy everything is possible because he was born in this country,” Da Gama explained to Phakaaathi yesterday.
If Mokotjo is not available, it could be that Bongani Zungu of Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes gets a call-up, having just missed out on selection in Da Gama’s original 25-man squad.