Betway Premiership outfit Richards Bay FC have confirmed the appointment of Dimitar Nikolaev Pantev as their new head coach, confirming an earlier FARPost report.
The Bulgarian mentor takes over from Ronnie Gabriel. Gabriel resigned from his role as head coach at Richards Bay a few days ago. Gabriel’s resignation comes after a disastrous and winless start to the 2026/27 Betway Premiership campaign.
Gabriel took sole charge of the team at the start of the season after previously co-leading the technical bench with Papi Zothwane. The latter has since departed to join Sekhukhune United.
The KZN side currently sits third from the bottom on the log with three points from their opening seven matches. They have drawn three and lost four, scoring nine goals and conceding 16 in the process.
RICHARDS BAY ANNOUNCE THE APPOINTMENT OF BULGARIAN COACH
The club had been linked with various coaches, including former Marumo Gallants coach Phuti Mohafe and Adnan Beganovic, who parted ways with TS Galaxy last season.
In a statement on Monday, the club announced the former Simba SC coach, Pantev, as the new man in charge.
DIMITAR NIKOLAEV PANTEV TO USE THE FIFA INTERNATIONAL BREAK TO SETTLE IN SOUTH AFRICA
“Richards Bay Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Dimitar Nokolaev Pantev as the Head Coach,” the club said in a statement.
“He has signed for one [1] season with an option to renew. Dimitar brings a wealth of experience, having coached clubs like Simba SC from Tanzania, Jwaneng Galaxy and Gaborone United, both teams from Botswana.
“The 50-year-old holds a UEFA A License and played a key role in guiding Simba SC into the CAF Champions League Group stages in 2025, and ORAPA United FC into the CAF Confederation League Group stages in 2024. He won the National Cup 2025/26 with Jwaneng Galaxy FC and won the Botswana League with Gaborone United 2024/25.
“The Club is delighted to welcome the Coach to Richards Bay Football Club and wishes him all the best.”
Pantev’s first match in charge of Richards Bay will be against Mamelodi Sundowns. This tough test will be after the FIFA International break on 13 October 2026.
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