adminRay Bande Senior Sports Reporter
NONE of Mutare City Rovers coaches have the requisite Caf A Licence or at least Caf B Licence at a time when Zifa are saying they will from this year be strict with the standard requirements for football coaches at all levels. Through the association’s technical director, Maxell Takaendesa Jongwe, Zifa this week announced they have raised the bar to permit only those with CAF A Licence to sit on the Premiership bench as part of a cocktail of interventions to improve the quality of the game in Zimbabwe.
He said the move was a basic requirement under the much murmured about CAF Club Licencing system. Jongwe said for one to be head coach in the Premier Soccer League, they had to be holders of the CAF A Licence, while assistant coaches should be CAF B or CAF C.
Goalkeepers’ coaches in the Premier Soccer League are now required to have a CAF Licence and a goalkeeper coaching certificate. However, it has emerged that Mutare-based new boys do not have a coach with the requisite qualifications way into their preseason preparations ahead of their Premiership debut season.
In a telephone interview from Harare on Wednesday afternoon, Jongwe revealed that Kachara had a CAF C coaching certificate. The Zifa technical director said he does not know Kachara’s assistant, Masakure.
Jongwe said coaches with a CAF B coaching qualification could sit on the bench of a Premiership team awaiting attainment of CAF A Licence. “They (Mutare City Rovers) coaches are not qualified. I know Kenny Kachara does not have the CAF B coaching licence. He actually has a CAF C licence.
“The other one you are talking about I do not even know him. The thing is that we are trying to set standards that will improve the technical expertise of our coaches here,” said Jongwe.
In the announcement made by the former CAPS United gaffer this week, he said coaches should have CAF A Licence or better to be considered for national teams from the juniors up to the senior Warriors and the Mighty Warriors.
The ZIFA technical director said Zimbabweans were lagging behind in terms of implementing in the coaching units. “In many African countries like Zambia and even Rwanda, you can’t be the head coach without the CAF Licence. We have known about the CAF Licencing for many years and as a country we were lagging behind in terms of implementation.
“We accelerated the courses in the last three years and the responses have been overwhelming. This year we are looking to have more courses by holding three CAF Cs, one CAF A and two CAF B courses,” said Jongwe.
Until last year, the PSL had set the minimum requirement for head coaches at CAF C Licence, while the coaches took the opportunity to upgrade their qualifications.
Jongwe said Zimbabwe had trained many coaches in the last three years and the authorities would not compromise on the standards. “What it means is that all coaches will be required to have CAF A Licence for them to be allowed to be head coach in the Premiership or at any level in the national teams. The majority of the coaches in the Premiership, I believe, meet the requirements
“However, we have said for this year those with CAF B and waiting to study for their CAF A Licence may get a special dispensation to be head coaches. “Those guys have made the effort to enrol for the courses even before they were even made a prerequisite because they realised the value.
“We have close to 50 coaches with the CAF A Licence in Zimbabwe and only 16 Premiership teams,” said Jongwe. According to media reports, Zifa have to date trained 41 CAF A Licence holders, 114 CAF B, 166 CAF C Licence and an estimated 4 000 men from Level One to Level Four.
Three women hold the CAF B in Zimbabwe while two are qualified CAF C Licence holders. There are also over 200 women with Level One to Four certificates. Jongwe said Division One coaches should possess at least a CAF B Licence, while a special waiver has been availed to those with CAF C Licence and studying towards the higher qualification.
ZIFA have also ordered that coaches in Division Two and Tertiary institutions should be CAF C Licence holders, while Level One is now meant for primary schools and Level Two for secondary schools.
He said it was important that NAPH and NASH adhere to the requirements since they deal with raw talent which needs special care.
Online Reporter