Sports minister congratulates Baxter

Safa appointed Baxter as the new national team coach on Friday, ending months of speculation about who will replace Shakes Mashaba as the Bafana coach.

READ: Safa appoints Baxter as new Bafana Bafana coach

“Let me take this opportunity to welcome the recent announcement by the South African Football Association [Safa] on the naming of Mr Stuart Baxter as the new Bafana Bafana head coach,” Nxesi told the Safa website.

“Stuart Baxter’s appointment comes at a time when the national team is currently competing for the 2018 Fifa World Cup and the Afcon qualifiers. The coach’s experience will indeed do the country proud as he joins the national team as a well-travelled coach who also boasts tremendous experience in his coaching career. We hope that his appointment will once more serve as a united front in spearheading national building and social cohesion. We wish him well in his career, and we are indeed behind him.”

Meanwhile, Safa have announced that Baxter will continue to work as SuperSport United coach for the remaining four Absa Premiership fixtures as well as the Nedbank Cup and Confederation Cup.