NEW COACH WILL SIGN TODAY
THE SOUTH African Football Association (Safa) yesterday claimed to have finally concluded an “agreement on a Bafana Bafana coach”, but still kept the public guessing by not revealing a name.
In a brief statement, Safa acknowledged the delay seeing that former mentor Shakes Mashaba was sacked on December 22 and his replacement is yet to be appointed, but promised to make an announcement within a day or two.
Stuart Baxter, the SuperSport United coach who was allowed to discuss the possibility of taking over the Bafana post last month, remains the favourite for the job despite his current employers growing tired of the dragging negotiations over the coach’s availability.
SuperSport have said they are not prepared to release Baxter before the end of the season, but Safa have also recently put doubts on whether the Scot will be the man to coach the national team after chief executive Dennis Mumble said he was not the only candidate the association were engaging.
The statement read: “Following a thorough, but lengthy process of seeking a replacement head coach for the men’s senior national team, Bafana Bafana, the association is pleased to announce that it has finalised an agreement with the successful candidate and is in the process of formalising the legal arrangements by exchanging signatures today.” Let’s wait and see… This is the moment all Bafana Bafana supporters – perhaps all South Africans – have been waiting for: the SA Football Association have concluded a deal with a new coach!
Safa announced late yesterday that they have come to an agreement with the “successful candidate” to take over from Shakes Mashaba as the new Bafana Bafana head coach.
The South African national team have been without a full-time head coach since December, after Mashaba was fired for, among other things, criticising the Safa top brass, including president Danny Jordaan, for a supposed lack of support.
It is known that Safa have been trying to secure the signature of Baxter for a number of weeks now, and while the organisation didn’t name the new coach yesterday for legal reasons, Baxter is the likely candidate.
If that is the case, the Scottish national will enjoy a second stint at the helm of Bafana, having previously been in the role in 2004-05.
“We are mindful that the South African public has been waiting with bated breath for this matter to be concluded, and we can report that we will make a formal and more detailed announcement to this effect in the next 24 to 48 hours.”