Lilitha Bodlani discusses the importance of acquiring a CAF A License after a few coaches were barred from sitting on the bench and had to be in the stands due to the lack of this license required in CAF inter-club matches
As we look forward to one of Africa’s biggest derby fixtures where Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs do battle, once cannot overlook the issue of football club coaches not possessing the right qualifications to manage at high levels.
With CAF successfully implementing the mandatory Club Licensing System and readmitting SAFA for enrollment, the move has paved the way for South Africa to host the CAF A License Coaching diploma from 13-20 November 2023.
This is a major development for the country considering that the last time our coaches were afforded the opportunity to do this highly-sought CAF A license was back in 2017.
That’s six years of frustration not only for the coaches, but the clubs too.
The highly sought-after CAF A License coaching course returns to South Africa on Monday, with notable Premier Soccer League (PSL) coaches headlining the class of 2023/2024.
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As a result, if a coach didn’t poses the license then they weren’t allowed to be in their club’s technical area during their respective games.
CAF had made a rule back in 2021 stating that it was a requirement for head coaches who are leading the clubs in CAF inter-club competitions to have a relevant CAF A license or a valid coaching license from a sister confederation such as UEFA, AFC, or Concacaf in order to be eligible to be in the dugout.
The same went for the assistant coaches who also had to have at the very least a CAF B license in order to occupy the technical team and coaching staff.
Clubs like Marumo Gallants, Royal AM and Cape Town City have been the most-impacted by these regulations.
Now the panel has chosen Eric Tinkler, Gavin Hunt and Steve Barker as the three coaches to be granted the opportunity to work towards earning a CAF A coaching badge.
𝗖𝗔𝗙 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗔
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SA will host the CAF A License Coaching Course from 13-20 November.
The 25 coaches who applied successfully include Steve Barker, Gavin Hunt & Eric Tinkler.
Head Coaches must possess either a Pro or CAF A license to sit on the… pic.twitter.com/p004tgoeIY
My thing is… why have we had to wait more than six years for this sort of coaching course to better equip our South African coaches and PSL coaches as a whole?
Yes, there have been hindrances like the pandemics as well as other issues affecting progress in our country so much so that such a programme could have been shelved, but we’re talking about the lives of the coaches who would want to upskill themselves further.
To think that a CAF A badge is a hallmark event for coaches in South Africa and requires 200 hours of dedicated study.
It only begs the question how many coaches currently in the DSTV premiership have this license – let alone a standard FIFA coaching license!
