Is it important for coaches to have qualifications? Thobejane weighs in 

Former Baroka FC mentor Kgoloko Thobejane has weighed in on whether it is important for coaches to acquire coaching qualifications to perform their duties.

SAFA recently amended the coaching regulations in the SA’s elite league from the 2024/25 season. 

Under the new regulations, a local head coach must have a CAF A coaching license, and the assistant coach must have a CAF B license.

To add to that, a foreign head coach must have a UEFA Pro or CAF A coaching license, whereas the assistant coach must hold a CAF B license. The coach must also have five years of coaching experience at the pro level and should have won a cup or league in the last seven years.

KGOLOKO THOBEJANE ON COACHING QUALIFICATIONS 

Coach Thobejane insists that having formal qualifications will help in providing a solid foundation for furthering one’s knowledge about the beautiful game. 

He believes qualifications support coaches with the skills and give them the much-needed confidence to develop and nurture the players they will be coaching. 

Thobejane went on to state that coaching qualifications are of paramount importance in upholding the standards of excellence, professionalism, and ethics within the football fraternity. 

“Yes [agreeing to attain qualifications], because back then, whoever plays football can coach. But now, there are some criteria, and every house has its own rules,” Thobejane told FARPost.

If that’s the case, FIFA is doing that [from FIFA to SAFA]. We can’t compete with it; we have to follow it, and because it’s our passion, we have to support it. As coaches, we are part and parcel of SAFA. At some stage, we tend to blame them, whereas we have to support them.

“If you are talking about SAFA that it’s doing good, they are mentioning us as coaches, but we are not aware of that thing and not knowing that this is our parents [referring to SAFA], and it’s the one who’s doing everything for us to grow and creating a platform for us on behalf of FIFA.”

‘WE NEED TO BE PROFESSIONALS’

Thobejane went on to state that coaches need to be professionals to do things correctly. 

“So, we need to be professionals. To start with a car, you need to have something to be able to drive it [have a license to be able to drive]. If that’s the case, we have to follow [acquire qualifications],” he added.

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