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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO Chiefs assistant coach Thulani Sibanda says attending the Caf A Licence coaching course has been an eye-opener, as the syllabus is up to date with modern football trends.
Sibanda spent two weeks in Tanzania and will finish his Caf A Licence course in September next year.
A holder of a Scottish C-Licence and a Sports Science degree from the National University of Science and Technology (Nust), Sibanda will be returning to class in March.
“I’m back, we’re done with the first block. What they’ve done is that the course has been split into four blocks. We’re going back in March, then June and finishing in September. It’s a practical-based course and in between classes we will be doing assignments and presentations. The instructor will also be coming to assess me to see if I’m applying what we’re learning. It’s exciting and I’m looking forward to capacitating myself,” said Sibanda.
The Chiefs assistant coach is one of the gaffers known to appreciate modern scientific football trends.
Last month he led Chiefs to their first major trophy win, the Chibuku Super Cup.
Sibanda, who supervised three Chiefs’ Chibuku Super Cup matches, including the 1-0 final win against Herentals at Barbourfields Stadium in the absence of head coach Nilton Terroso, did not have time to celebrate his club’s feat as he left in a hurry without even collecting his medal heading to Tanzania.
Sibanda was in charge of Chiefs’ quarter-final 1-0 win against Highlanders, penalty shootouts victory against Black Rhinos in the semi-finals after the match had ended 0-0 in regulation time.
With three First Division titles under his belt, Sibanda who guided the club to the Premiership after winning the 2017 Zifa Southern Region Division One Soccer League title had to be reassigned to “fitness trainer” at the club on their maiden topflight appearance in 2018 as he didn’t have the requisite Caf A Licence.
It was only in 2019 that Sibanda, who won his first championship in Division One in 2011 when he steered the now-defunct Quelaton into the Premiership managed to get an exemption from Zifa.
The football motherbody has been enforcing policies and regulations in the game, with the clean-up exercise targeting having only qualified personnel and authorised individuals at the Premiership dugouts.
A number of assistant coaches and support staff were “ejected” to the terraces after failing to get accredited as they don’t have requisite qualifications.
Zifa has been calling clubs to adhere to Fifa/Caf Club Licensing requirements . — @ZililoR
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