By Chris Totobela
On Monday, 8 January, 34 potential coaches from across the province attended the opening day of the SAFA D License coaching course. This event occurred at the St Andrew’s College auditorium. It was led by two experienced SAFA instructors, former Gqeberha-based Rainbow stars head coach Desmond Lewis and former Durban bush bucks stalwart Leonard “Shoes” Gregory.
New Year’s Cup Sport Institute CEO Luyanda Papu shared his views on the successful first day with Grocott’s Mail. “We are delighted to host this coaching course in Makhanda for our local coaches and are also grateful to St Andrew’s College for this partnership,” he said.
Papu added, “This will definitely assist SAFA’s vision of developing local coaches. We have also launched satellite schools in Northern Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and Malawi.”
Local coaches and football lovers welcomed this great initiative. Rhodes University’s sports administrator, Siya Dumiso, was pleased to see this course hosted in Makhanda. “This is a great initiative, and I wish there could be more as this will assist our local coaches moving forward. I have seen a lot of local passionate coaches here who will benefit from this, and that will positively impact our local football,” said Dumiso.
Former Maru Coach and local football legend Andile Bobotyane echoed Dumiso’s sentiments by saying, “We are very excited, and this seems like a dream come true for many of us as we have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and this will add to the little knowledge we already have.”
Makana Tigers chairman and Makana Citizen Front Public Relations councillor Thandisizwe Matebese also shared his views with Grocott’s Mail. “This was long overdue, and it is going to change our lives as coaches and help to uplift the standard of our local football,” said Matebese.
This is an excellent initiative by the New Year’s Cup Sports Institute, which has promised to return and offer a C License coaching course for this current group.
The organisers also mentioned that the long-awaited 8th edition of the New Year’s Cup will now occur during the Easter weekend and will be played at Foley’s Ground and the home of local football JD Dlepu Stadium. They also confirmed that there will be a double dose of the tournament this year, as the 2025 edition will take place in December.
