Mokoena excited by new Bafana role

The former Bafana captain was roped in by Safa to assist team manager Barney Kujane.

“I can say it’s long overdue‚” Mokoena told TimesLive.

“I always wanted to come back to the structure and right now being in a position to assist Bra Barney‚ to assist the team in management‚ it’s absolutely a great position and I hope my experience will help the boys.

“I always believe that football belongs to footballers. Bra Barney is doing so many things‚ to start with.

“He’s sending call up (letters) to the players‚ booking their (plane) tickets‚ hotel accommodation.

“It extends to even working with the team doctor in terms of what the boys will eat at the hotel and booking of the stadiums.

“Of course the coach will ask for a training ground and you need to get that sorted.

“Closer to game day‚ you have to be there for pre-match meetings which is the day before the game‚ get the team list sorted.

“You have to be at the airport before them to get their boarding passes sorted. It’s nice to be a footballer‚ now I can see it‚” said Mokoena.

“It’s a lot of things that as a footballer you don’t see happening behind the scenes.”