Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos recently snubbed two South African coaches offered to assist him at the upcoming AFCON.
Broos guided Bafana to the AFCON after missing the 2022 edition of the continental showpiece.
The South African national team kickstarts its preparations for the biennial tournament on January 4, 2024.
In the build-up to the AFCON, which runs from 13 January to 11 February 2024 in Ivory Coast, SAFA offered Broos two local coaches to assist him alongside Helman Mkhalele.
The Bafana legend, Mkhalele, has remained as Broos’s only assistant following the departure of Cedomir Janesvki, who resigned 15 months ago. The 62-year-old North Macedonian took on an assignment as manager of Greek side AEL Limassol. He lasted seven months on the job before taking the North Macedonia national team gig.
Janevski, who represented Yugoslavia and what became the independent state of what was then known as Macedonia, joined Bafana along with Broos in 2021.
WHICH SOUTH AFRICAN COACHES WERE SNUBBED BY HUGO BROOS
In an effort to strengthen the technical team going to AFCON, SAFA are said to have offered Broos the services of Morena Ramoreboli and Raymond Mdaka, who guided Bafana to a third-place finish at the 2023 COSAFA Cup.
Ramoreboli previously won the COSAFA tournament in 2021. On the other hand, Mdaka guided Marumo Gallants to the semi-final of the CAF Confederations Cup last season.
Their performances had SAFA believing they could offer valuable insights and support to Broos at AFCON. However, Broos reportedly turned a deaf ear to the offers, opting instead to retain his current assistant, Helman Mkhalele.
Mkhalele, a former Bafana Bafana player himself, has been Broos’ assistant since the Belgian coach took charge in 2021.
Concerns were raised about the potential lack of diversity and fresh perspectives on the Bafana bench with Mkhalele as the sole assistant.
“It’s a slap in the face to South African coaches,” said a source. “We have talented coaches who are hungry to learn and prove themselves, but Broos seems determined to shut them out. This is not the way to build a successful national team.”
Efforts to get a comment from SAFA were fruitless as SAFA’s spokesperson, Mninawa Ntloko, referred questions to the CEO. The CEO, Lydia Monyepao’s phone rang several times unanswered.
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