Jordaan praises Modise, Mashaba
Banyana Banyana striker Portia Modise and Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba respectively won the Sports Star of the Year and Coach of the Year awards.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) has praised Banyana Banyana striker Portia Modise and Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba for respectively winning the Sports Star of the Year and Coach of the Year awards at the SA Sports Awards held at the Sandton Convention Centre on Sunday November 30.
“This has been an incredible year for the Association and its stars,” said SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan.
“We hope this will encourage the entire football family to even do better going forward.”
Modise reached a 100-goal milestone during the CAF African Women championships in Namibia, where the Senior Women’s National Team narrowly missed a place at next year’s World Cup scheduled for Canada.
“She is a phenomenal goal scorer and her record will take some beating. Portia is a living legend,” added Dr Jordaan.
Bafana Bafana head coach Ephraim Shakes Mashaba completed a double, when he was named Coach of the Year at the 2014 South African Sports Awards on Sunday December 30 in Johannesburg, just hours after he guided his squad to a convincing 2-0 victory over Cote d’Ivoire in the 2014 Nelson Mandela Challenge at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.
Mashaba was flown from the match immediately after receiving his medal in the annual event in Mpumalanga straight to Johannesburg, where he beat off the challenge of Swimming South Africa’s Graham Hill and Springbok Sevens tactician Neil Powell.
Mashaba was rewarded for leading the South African u.20 Men’s National Team, Amajita, to qualification for the 2015 African Youth Championship, which will be played in Senegal, and also turning around the fortunes of Bafana Bafana, who qualified for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Equatorial Guinea 2015, where he finished unbeaten and top of the group.
Shakes took over the ailing Bafana Bafana in September and got off to a good start with a 3-0 win over Sudan in Khartoum. After a draw in Cape Town against the then reigning champions Nigeria, he travelled to Congo, where he guided his side to 2-0 victory in Pointe Noire, followed by a draw in the reverse fixture in Polokwane.
A win over Sudan in the penultimate qualifier in Durban secured qualification to AFCON 2015, which runs from January 17 to February 8. He then came very close to helping South Africa to beat the Super Eagles in Uyo, Nigeria when it ended 2-2 with the hosts equalising in referee’s optional time.
The result, however, ensured that the African champions were dethroned before even the start of the tournament in Equatorial Guinea as they failed to qualify.
“This has really been a great year for South African football, the Gods of African football are really smiling on us, as Shakes always says. As an Association we are proud of him as he has brought back the smiles to millions of South Africans who are passionate about Bafana Bafana.
“It seems everything he touches turns to gold, because he did the same thing with Bafana Bafana as he did with the u.20 squad. Our football is clearly heading in the right direction and we want to thank this diligent South African. We are glad we made the right choice when we appointed him to lead those two teams,” said SAFA President Dr. Danny Jordaan.
Former Banyana Banyana striker-turned-defender Noko Motlou and former Bafana defender Lucas Radebe, together with all national teams who qualified for major CAF tournaments, also received special recognition at the awards.
