Following the SAFA Technical Committee meeting, a former Bafana Bafana captain's name emerged as a recommendation for one of the top positions.
The gathering took place on Wednesday at SAFA House in Nasrec, where a variety of subjects were discussed.
One topic on the agenda was the appointment of a manager for the High Performance Centre (HPC) based in Tshwane.
Simphiwe Dludlu, who once led Banyana as a captain, was recommended as a perfect candidate for the job according to SAFA Technical Committee Chairman Jack Maluleka.
Dludlu currently serves as the head coach of the SA Women's U-17 team (Bantwana) and previously filled in as Banyana Banyana's coach during the COSAFA Cup while the senior team played international friendlies.
SAFA TECHNICAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN – ‘SIMPHIWE DLUDLU MUST BE GIVEN THAT POSITION'
“We also felt that Simphiwe Dludlu must be given the position of manager at the High Performance Centre (HPC) in Tshwane.”
The High Performance Centre (HPC) has a history of producing renowned talents like Linda Motlhalo and Thembi Kgatlana, who now star overseas.
However, SAFA expressed concerns about a recent decline in HPC's output. During an interview with SABC Sport, SAFA Technical Director Walter Steenbok emphasized the need to strengthen the HPC.
”The era of Fran Hilton-Smith – they have done a very good job, also the High Performance Centre was very key, now the HPC has been struggling a lot. The likes of Linda Motlhalo, Thembi Kgatlana are products of that,” he said.
“I think we need to first strengthen the High Performance Centre and strengthen our football in the regions, as you can see – schools football is coming strong.
“So the scouting also has to come up a little bit strong. I am worried about a province like the Eastern Cape – they have thrown in a lot of good players, but when you see teams there struggling in the Hollywoodbets Super League.
“It is important that we start training coaches there, like I said the HPC has been a bit of a problem and also for us not having an under-23 team, that big step for a player to move from Hollywoodbets to that level has been a little bit of a challenge.”
