Mashaba to shake up Bafana Bafana

THE newly elected national coach of Bafana Bafana, Shakes Mashaba, said that he is very proud to coach the national team for the second time, and this time round he will ensure that it will be successfully.

“I am hoping to turn around the fortunes of the national team, and are very proud and humbled by the announcement of SAFA to make me head coach again,” said Mashaba at his first press conference with the media after returning from West-Africa with the national u.20 team.

He will still have an input in the national u.20 team as they are about to qualify for the AFCON tournament. “I will still be available for the u.20 team as I can’t just leave them, so I will still support them. But there is a coach for them and I will play a supporting role,” said Mashaba. “But I will resume my duties with the national team immediately, and we have to put some structures in place. We will also select a squad for Bafana Bafana in their qualifying matches.”

The 63-year old Mashaba faced the media for the first time on Friday August 8 at SAFA House, after he returned from his West-African venture with the successful u.20 team. He will start with a selection process for the Bafana Bafana team. “I am glad that I will have the support of the PSL coaches, who will make their players available for the future national team.”

Dennis Mumble, SAFA CEO, said: “We are in the process of prosecuting three players from the PSL teams who did not make them available to play for Bafana earlier this year. We will do this in future if there is no reasonable explanation when a player is called up for national duty and he withdraw from the team.”

Newly-appointed Bafana Bafana head coach Mashaba will not be sacked if the national team does not qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. “We will not say to Shakes that he must qualify for Morocco 2015,” said SAFA President Danny Jordaan.

“That is not his mandate. The mandate is to build a sustainable Bafana Bafana team for the next few years.”

Former Head coach Gordon Igesund was handed a stern mandate when he was hired in 2012, which included ensuring Bafana Bafana qualified for the 2014 Fifa World Cup, while reaching the semi-finals of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

“I want us to kill it now, I don’t want it to come later. My mandate is automatic. There is nowhere as a coach where you take a team and want to lose,” Mashaba said. “I’ve got a CV to enhance… I heard the president saying that there is no pressure. But I know the pressure is there of winning.”