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Fungai Muderere
IT will be strange for the FC Platinum family to play their Confederation of African Football (CAF) preliminary round matches against Costa do Sol of Mozambique without their coach Hendrikus Pieter De Jongh sitting on the bench and the miners’ executive members are concerned about the potential negative effects of this move.
The first leg will be played on Saturday in Mozambique while the second leg is slated for next weekend at the National Sports Stadium.
De Jongh, a holder of a Uefa A coaching badge, was denied a special dispensation by the African football governing body as he is not a holder of a Caf A coaching licence.
A Caf A coaching licence is a prerequisite for all coaches who participate in Caf inter-club competitions.
Coaches who acquired their coaching qualifications outside the African continent are required to apply for exemption from Caf, with only those with Pro licences exempted.
“The FC Platinum board and executive management have met over the decision by Caf not to give a special dispensation to coach, Hendrikus Pieter De Jongh, to sit on the team’s bench during the Champions League matches as he does not have a Caf A licence. While we are concerned about the potential effects of this move, in the short term we are confident that our club has options to ensure that the upcoming matches in the preliminary round against
Costa do Sol will go on with minimal disruption,” said FC Platinum president Fabian Mashingaidze.
He added: “To ensure our long-term competitiveness we are assessing a number of options to enable the team’s capacity to perform at domestic and Caf competitions.”
While De Jongh will be absent from the three-time champions’ dugout, it has also come to our attention that his assistant coach Patrick Mandizha also does not have the required Caf A licence.
De Jongh, who had a nasty fallout with his former assistant Lizwe Sweswe over a month ago, will have to rely on goalkeepers’ coach Tembo Chuma to oversee the Caf matches.
Interestingly, Sweswe is a Caf A holder and was recently snatched by Zifa Central Region Division One side, Trukumb Mine on a four-year contract.
“Of course, it is easier when the coach is on the bench and especially at half-time, when he can say something,” said FC Platinum spokesperson Chido Chizondo.
“But we also have other great coaches, and they will be prepared for everything, and we have to be ready for that. It’s going to be strange, of course. We have not played without a coach yet, but this is football and we will be ready,” she added.
Online Reporter