Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane and SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt.

• South Africa is back in the CAF Coaching Convention and will host the CAF A Licence Coaching diploma again.
• Coaches in South Africa had faced a six-year gap without the CAF A badge, affecting their credentials.
• CAF’s regulations for coaching licences affected coaches and teams, but now figures like Gavin Hunt, Eric Tinkler and Steve Barker are working to earn their CAF A badges by June 2024.
• For more sports news, go to the News24 Sport front page.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Coaching Convention has officially readmitted the South African Football Association (SAFA), which paves the way for South Africa to host the prestigious CAF A Licence Coaching diploma from November 13 to November 20.

The CAF A badge is a hallmark event for coaches in South Africa and requires 200 hours of dedicated study.

It has been six frustrating years for South Africa as the course had not been offered since 2017, leaving coaches to either fall behind or acquire the credentials through other associations.

In a decisive move in 2021, CAF implemented a bold requirement for head coaches leading their clubs in CAF inter-club competitions.

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It was mandated that they must hold either a relevant CAF A licence or a valid coaching licence from a sister confederation such as UEFA, AFC, or Concacaf in order to be eligible to be in the dugout.

Additionally, assistant coaches were mandated to hold at least a CAF B licence to fulfill their roles on the coaching staff.

These regulations immediately impacted teams like Marumo Gallants, Royal AM and Cape Town City.

Coaches Dan Malesela, Khabo Zongo and Eric Tinkler had to watch from the stands during their respective teams’ CAF matches last season due to their inability to meet the coaching licence requirements.

This past season, Gavin Hunt also had to watch his team from the stands as they clawed their way through Confederation Cup preliminary rounds to book a place in the group stages.

Both Hunt and Tinkler possess the UEFA A Licence, but even these credentials were insufficient for them to secure a spot in the dugout.

Nevertheless, the pair, alongside Steve Barker, who also holds his UEFA A badge, have successfully made it through the selection process from a pool of 65 enthusiastic applicants.

They will now be among 25 participants granted the opportunity to work towards earning their esteemed CAF A badges, with the goal of achieving this distinction by June 2024.

“We are extremely excited about the upcoming course and believe that the association has taken a big step forward by being back in the convention,” said SAFA technical director Walter Steenbok

“CAF regulations stipulate that head coaches must possess either a Pro or CAF A Licence before sitting on benches during continental competitions like the Champions League and the Confederation Cup, leading us towards empowering our local talented coaches.

“It has been six years since we conducted a CAF B and A course in South Africa, however, we have managed to get accreditation and satisfied the new manuals’ requirements of the Confederation of African Football.”