SAFA spokesperson Dominic Chimhavi has disclosed the “truth” as to why the nation’s football association failed to name the new Bafana Bafana coach at the weekend.
The search for Molefi Ntseki’s successor has been going on for a while and some names have been thrown in the mix. Carlos Queiroz has been the most prominent name linked with the vacancy but Amazulu boss Benni McCarthy has also been mentioned on several occasions. It was expected that SAFA would confirm the replacement last Saturday via a statement.
But in a change of events, the initial statement was retracted late on Friday night, with the Covid-19 issue been cited as an excuse – that the coach would not be able to make the trip due to travel restrictions.
Meanwhile, reports started flying around in the media that SAFA’s leading candidate, Carlos Queiroz, could have declined the association’s offer, hence the continued delays.
“No, not really. We are not stalling. The truth is after Saturday’s meeting the NEC has mandated the CEO to expedite the issue of the coach,” Spokesperson Chimhavi said when pressed on why there’s been a delay.
“One of the main concerns in that meeting was that we only have five weeks to go before our opening World Cup qualifier in Harare (against Zimbabwe). So we are still going to name the coach in the coming days.”
“I don’t understand where this perception that the appointment of the coach has stalled comes from. In what way has it stalled? The CEO is finalizing everything with the incoming coach. I can’t give you a specific date, but we expect to announce a coach soon,” Chimhavi said.
“We were worried about the public and media perception that if we announce a coach via Zoom, it was going to be another talking point. So we wanted to avoid that, it would have raised eyebrows and we didn’t want the backlash. The association has a coach and we are just finalizing everything at the moment.”
Chimhavi also cleared the air about the number of candidates on ground.
“The SAFA technical committee whittled down the list of more than 200 applicants to 60 and then further whittled down to five. There was then a criterion, which includes qualifying for major tournaments. We’ve got the best candidate. We have a coach,” he said.
It is now expected that the new manager could be appointed in a matter of days.