The national team head coach will have to look elsewhere for the man to be third in charge in his technical squad
Molefi Ntseki’s manager Thato Matuka has confirmed he is “closing the Bafana Bafana chapter” after the former South Africa coach failed to agree to terms with Safa during contract negotiations for his return to the national team fold as assistant to Hugo Broos.
This follows various developments – first with Broos saying Ntseki will be joining his backroom staff as second assistant coach, before Safa poured cold water on the return of the ex-national Under-17 coach.
After arriving in South Africa last week, Broos held two meetings with Ntseki where they agreed to work with each other.
Editors’ Picks
- Tuchel tantalisingly close to achieving Chelsea’s Mission: Impossible
- Saliba’s big chance? Luiz leaving Arsenal opens door for on-loan centre-back
- Aurelien Tchouameni: The Monaco midfield ‘monster’ being linked with Chelsea
- What went wrong for USWNT star Rose Lavelle at Manchester City?
But Safa could not find common ground with the former South Africa tactician, who had been fired at the end of March after Bafana failed to qualify for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.
“I can confirm we are closing the Bafana Bafana chapter. We did not agree on terms with Safa and thought it was best to move on,” Matuka told Times Live.
“We thank Safa for the opportunity, especially chief executive Tebogo Matlanthe. We also want to thank the president [Danny Jordaan] and the entire national executive committee.
“Coach Ntseki met twice with coach Hugo Broos and both meetings went very well. From a philosophy and technical point of view, both parties were happy to work with each other.
“The outstanding part was the contract negotiations and that’s where I come in.”
After appointing Macedonian-Belgian Cedomir Janevski as his first assistant coach, Broos has insisted that a local should be his second deputy.
It is yet to be seen who Broos will pick as his second assistant coach as some reports suggest the name of Under-23 coach David Notoane.
Last week, Safa appeared not happy with the Belgian coach’s choice, with the association’s technical committee member Jacob Mathathe feeling Broos overrode them in choosing Ntseki.
“It is unfortunate the coach has gone public in terms of the SA [assistant] coach who he wants without going through the technical committee,” said Mathathe.
Broos’ first competitive assignment as Bafana coach will be a visit to Harare for a 2022 World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe in September.
That will be followed with a home fixture against Ghana as South Africa seek to make an appearance or the global football showpiece for the first since 2010, when they hosted it.
