Safa TD Steenbok wants coach qualification rules in PSL next season

Having underqualified or unqualified coaches in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and other local football structures could soon be a thing of the past as the South African Football Association (Safa) forges ahead with plans to curb the issue.   

The Safa technical department has put forward proposals that include regulations on what qualifications coaches need to be allowed to train players and sit on the bench in the DStv Premiership and Motsepe Foundation Championship.  

There has been concern over the high number of coaches in the top tier and second division who are coaching without suitable badges.  

Some coaches in the PSL only possess Safa D or C licences that are entry-level into coaching. The coaches are not equipped to deal with professional or semi-professional players — and much has been said about how this hurts the progress of players and cripples national teams in the process. 

Some PSL coaches have had to sit out their side’s matches when they play in the Caf Champions League or Confederation Cup due to the lack of stipulated qualifications.   

Safa technical director Walter Steenbok said the association has made a proposal to its  congress that in the near future no coach should be allowed to lead a PSL team without having at least a Caf A licence, while assistant coaches should have a Caf B qualification.  

“Remember from the congress, my framework was approved but there are additional technical changes that I wan so they need to have a look at them,” Steenbok said.  

“They [the congress] are sitting in two weeks’ time and from there we are going to make an announcement. We are going to announce before the end of the season on this because the congress has already approved all these changes I spoke about the last time [at a breakfast with the media in April].  

“Next season I’m pushing that you need to have an A [licence] to coach in the PSL as a head coach and an assistant must have a B licence. In the NFD [Motsepe Foundation Championship], it’s going to be the same thing.  

“You have seen in KwaZulu-Natal already they are saying we are pushing that. So let’s wait for what the [Safa technical] committee says but all these things are in black and white and it’s for them to have a deliberation and pronounce. I have presented this to the congress already.  

“If I have my way, this could be actioned next season — but let’s wait for the technical committee because they’ve got the right to make decisions and  advise.”  

It has not only been in the PSL where coaches have been appointed without suitable qualification. Safa is also guilty of this as Bafana Bafana assistant coach Helman Mkhalele reportedly only has a Safa level 1 badge and was barred from coaching in the Cosafa Cup this year.  

Steenbok said the association has also made a proposal that no foreign goalkeepers should be signed in the Safa-run women's Hollywoodbets Super League.  

“In the Hollywoodbets, we proposed you can have three foreign players, but the goalkeeper cannot be foreign. These are some of the things that are already there and we are going to implement.

“In two weeks’ time we should be able to give information on everything once they [the congress] add the additional [points] I’ve put there.”

The association launched the Safa Clive Barker Academy on Thursday in honour of fallen legend Clive Barker, who guided Bafana Bafana to Africa Cup of Nations glory in 1996.

Steenbok said the mission of the Clive Barker Academy is to facilitate education of coaches and he announced  the association would once again host Caf A Licence Diploma courses. The first course will be held in November.

“We will be offering different courses under the Clive Barker Academy and we are open to working with stakeholders and institutions from South Africa and abroad to capitalise on the initiative to grow our football.”