JOHANNESBURG – The South African Football Association (Safa) on Wednesday evening 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, the country’s football mother body 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 vacant 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.
BAFANA COACH SAGA: A timeline of gross incompetence, dishonesty and contradictions. https://t.co/u2gL0XovTV via @IOL
— Mazola J. Molefe (@superjourno) April 21, 2017
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 on Thursday.”
But many will take this with a pinch of salt, given that Safa have, on several occasions, claimed to have hired a coach, with an announcement imminent.
Let’s wait and see…
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