Shakes Mashaba
Cape Town — The South African Football Association (Safa) are assessing the current state of Bafana Bafana and could sack Shakes Mashaba as head coach, according to widespread reports.
Bafana Bafana’s chances of securing a spot at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Gabon are hanging by a thread following recent disappointing home and away results (2-2 and 0-0) against Cameroon.
Soccer Laduma reports that Safa have formed a panel to assess the way forward for the senior national side.
Mashaba’s contract is set to expire after the 2018 Soccer World Cup in Russia, but Safa might just axe the coach earlier than expected following the recent results.
Earlier this month, Sport24 reported that midfielder Kamohelo Mokotjo opted not to honour future Bafana Bafana call-ups after stating that Mashaba has a problem with him. Days later he took to his official Instagram account to make the announcement official.
Following the controversial decision by Mokotjo, other South African players joined him in voicing their concerns about Shakes Mashaba’s coaching capabilities.
If Safa do show Mashaba the door, the association would likely have to stick with a local coach for financial reasons.
Safa has no capital to lure an international coach as they look to balance their books.
Meanwhile, Bafana Bafana return to the playing field on Saturday, June 4 against Gambia in their next Afcon group M qualifier. — News24