Manqoba Mngqithi has explained why the technical team members he brought with him when he joined Young Africans SC have remained at the club despite his unceremonious exit on Sunday.
Yanga announced it was cutting ties with Mngqithi after the goalless draw against TRA United on Saturday.
However, his assistant, Simo Dladla, has remained in charge as Yanga searches for a new head coach. Dladla led Timu ya Wananchi to a 2-1 win over Mashujaa on Tuesday and is expected to remain in the dugout for Sunday’s match against Cedric Kaze’s Kagera Sugar.
Other members of the technical team include former Bafana Bafana midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi, who serves as set-piece coach, goalkeeper coach Greg Etafia and performance analyst Yardaan Valodia.
The club is also home to another South African, Thulani Thekiso, a performance analyst, who joined alongside Romain Folz ahead of the 2025/26 season. The former Cape Town City FC analyst has remained at the club alongside Mngqithi’s man. Their presence has provided continuity as the club works towards appointing Mngqithi’s successor.
MNGQITHI EXPLAINS CONTRACTUAL COMPLICATIONS
The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach, who is still in Dar es Salaam, told Andile Ncube on Metro FM that his staff’s contractual terms do not necessarily align with his own. He explained that voluntarily leaving would require members of the technical team to compensate the club, even after the coach they had worked alongside had departed.
“A contract might say that if the club terminates your employment, it must pay you a certain number of months. But if you choose to leave, you must pay the club. Those terms don’t always align with what happens to the head coach,” he said on SNAWA.
Mngqithi suggested that such provisions complicated the position of colleagues who might otherwise have considered following him out of the club.
“I believe most of the staff, if not all, would have welcomed the opportunity to leave with me. But having to pay two or three months makes that difficult.”
Mngqithi also acknowledged that appointing a successor could influence the composition of Yanga’s technical team.
“Once a new coach arrives, he might prefer to work with people he knows, rather than staff he considers associated with the previous coach.”
Meanwhile, Mngqithi declined to disclose whether he has received offers since leaving Young Africans. The experienced coach said spending Christmas with his children is a priority, suggesting any return to the dugout could wait until the new year.
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