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Safca plans to expand football coaching skills programme across SA  

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The quest to weed local football of harmful foreign coaching methodologies and instill a unitary coaching methodology has gotten off to a successful start. That is according to the South African Football Coaches Association (Safca) Sporting Director, Sudesh Singh.

Singh was speaking on the last day of the 10-day NQF Level 4 Safca football coaching skills programme at the Alexandra Stadium in Johannesburg. 

The pilot project was hosted in partnership with the Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality, and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (Cathsseta) and coaches from different backgrounds being educated on football development, among other issues.  

‘Decolonising coach education’ 

Singh says it was a huge success. “This pilot project was an undoubted success, an African first in decolonising coach education, but also importantly having this locally designed content accredited by Cathsetta which gives it an academic qualification, in this case, NQF 4. 

He says they are now hoping to expand the pilot project into a national project to have a far greater impact in revolutionising football development in the country. 

“We are now hoping that in partnership with Cathsetta, we can expand on this and take this revolutionary project nationwide as others must benefit from this content which is a crucial ingredient in the progress of SA football.” 

Safca has lamented the inability of local national teams to compete at the international level, which will next month be marked by the absence of Bafana Bafana from the Fifa World Cup in Qatar, having failed to qualify for the quadrennial soccer extravaganza. 

Former Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Manqoba Ngwenya, former Bloemfontein Celtic striker Lebohang Kukame and former Banyana Banyana player Noria Pinky Matjekane, among others, were some of the coaches in attendance and left with an NQF 4 qualification.

According to the statement released by Safca, correcting football at the development level will go a long way in correcting many of the wrongs in the local game. 

It is Safca’s firm belief that the problems facing South African football at the international level and the inability to produce players with the capacity to compete in the best leagues in the world is a mere reflection of the structures and ideals that develop players in the country,” reads the statement in part. 

“Safca believes, with proper coaching at the youth level by qualified coaches, most of the problems in local football would be solved.” 

Searching for partners

The football coaches body which is an associate member of the South African Football Association says they are looking for more partners on this project.   

“Aside from Cathsetta, we are looking at partnering with like-minded corporates and institutions to minimise costs and make it accessible to as many grassroots coaches as possible. We are also targeting former professional players, male and female), to empower and upskill them as they make a smooth transition into coaching,” says Singh.  

Earlier in the week, other experts such as Soccer League (PSL) medical doctor Dr Lervasen Pillay, SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi, and SAFA Referees Instructor Albert Maphutse, among others, presented on various topics.

Mngqithi says South African players already have special qualities, but need to work on developing technical skills to take on the world. 

Hunt says for South African football to succeed everyone needs to believe in unitary playing philosophy. 

 

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