Africa Soccer What It Would Cost SAFA To Appoint Benni McCarthy For Bafana Bafana

Bafana Bafana have still been without head coach since the South African Football Association (SAFA) sacked Molefi Ntseki. And SAFA is in a desperate rush to appoint a new coach. Should SAFA wish to appoint AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy to fill the vacant Bafana Bafana role, they will have to cough up R2 million.

Benni McCarthy, who remains Bafana Bafana’s leading scorer of all time, recently said he may not be ready for the role. But he also added that he was open to helping the team.

According to the Soccer Laduma website, SAFA would have to pay AmaZulu compensation to the tune of R2 million to release Benni Mc­Carthy immediately (before the season ends).

Bafana Bafana’s next assignment is the all-important 2022 World Cup qualifiers which kick off in the first week in June with an away match against neighbours Zimbabwe. That’s in just over eight weeks.

If SAFA is prepared to wait until the season ends, it would not have to fork out the R2 million compensation. As AmaZulu would have sufficient time to find a replacement coach ahead of the 2021/22 DStv Premiership season which will kick off in mid-to late August.

However, the current season only ends the week before that first 2022 World Cup qualifier. A catch-22 situation indeed for SAFA.

While Benni McCarthy would be a popular choice, he lacks experience as a coach, let alone a national one.

He is currently in only his second coaching role at Usuthu having previously guided Cape Town City.

As first highlighted by The South African website, former Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Queiroz remains SAFA’s first-choice with Phillipe Troussier, another ex-Bafana Bafana mentor, also ahead of McCarthy in the governing body’s wish-list of candidates.


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