SA U23 coach David Notoane announced his resignation from the position of head coach live on air.
In an interview he had with Robert Marawa on Vuma FM, Notoane mentioned lack of support from the association and PSL clubs, among others, as his reason for his failure to qualify for the AFCON under-23 tournament which will be staged in Morocco.
Lack of friendlies and preparation for the qualifiers hampered Notoane’s team preparedness. The availability of players was also an issue for Notoane, where some PSL clubs refused to give him players for qualifiers because the under-23 program doesn’t align with the CAF calendar.
In his statement which he read on air, Notoane mentioned that he worked without a contract from SAFA and with him stepping down, he feels a new coach should take the under-23 programme forward.
🔴 WATCH EARLIER TODAY🔴
— robertmarawa (@robertmarawa) March 29, 2023
"This marks the end of my appointment....!!!"
The resignation of National U-23 Coach, David Notoane LIVE on #MSWOn947 as the Team failed to qualify for both the AFCON and the Olympic Games.
Right move??
📽 Full interview: https://t.co/jXlri6fFKZ pic.twitter.com/4W9ChStNgf
Notoane’s record as under 23 coach was less impressive despite qualifying for Tokyo 2022 Olympics last year. 0 wins in the last 12 games could not be an acceptable standard as far as the junior national team is concerned. With the under-20 also having missed out on under-20 AFCON, and now the under-23’s, it means a whole generation of young footballers will miss a chance to play in the Olympics in 2024 in Paris.
AFCON junior tournaments are important for players to understand tournament football so that when they get to Bafana level, they may understand what it means to be at the highest stage of continental level.
