Former Chippa United coach Kwanele Kopo has emerged as a frontrunner to fill the vacant AmaTuks head coach job left by Tlisane Motaung.
The club recently announced Motaung’s departure, after he had been at the helm since the 2021/22 season.
Motaung, who initially joined Pretoria University as a player, took over as head coach in the 2021/22 season and came close to guiding the team to promotion to the Betway Premiership. Under his leadership, the club reached the PSL Promotional/Relegation Playoffs twice, achieving this in both the 2021/22 and 2023/24 seasons.
Additionally, Motaung led AmaTuks to the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals twice, where they faced defeats against Royal AM in 2021 and Mamelodi Sundowns in 2024. In the most recent season, AmaTuks concluded their campaign in 11th position in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, accumulating 38 points—10 points shy of a promotion playoff spot.
Motaung’s contract will end in June, and the club has decided that they will appoint a different coach for the position.
FARPost has gathered that negotiations are ongoing between the club and Kopo, who has been out of a job since December 2024 after he chose not to renew his contract with Chippa United. Kopo’s role at Chippa was his first head coaching position in top-flight football, and he is now seeking his next assignment.
KWANELE KOPO READY FOR NEW ROLE
The former SuperSport United development coach is on record as saying he is ready for a new role. “I’m not really a person of titles,” Kopo recently told Radio 2000.
“I’m a servant of football. I would like to teach, I like to develop people, so I can serve in any technical capacity, head coach, assistant coach, technical advisor or technical director.
“I think as long as I’m able to do what I love most and as long as I’m able to teach, as long as I’m able to improve players, to improve teams and be able to look after myself and the family, but I’m available. I am ready to jump into the kitchen again, as Mark Williams will put it.”
Tuks were relegated in the 2015/16 season and will be looking to bounce back to the top-flight.
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