Cash-strapped BFA to stick with Mpote
Chakalisa Dube | Saturday April 23, 2022 06:00
Mpote has been given the role to handle the national team on an interim basis but was reportedly keen on getting the job permanently. This week sources said talks between Mpote and the BFA in relation to a full-time contract are gathering pace. Insiders say Mpote is expected to assume his role as a full-time Zebras coach at the end of the current league season.
A report from the BFA vice president (technical) Masego Nchingane is said to have recommended that Mpote be given the job on a full-time basis. “The association does not have the budget to hire a foreign coach.
That is why it has settled for Mpote. The consensus at the association is that he is the right person for the job among locals,” an insider at Lekidi said this week. “The association has delayed the appointment in order to allow him to finish the season at Orapa.” Early this year, the BFA appointed Mpote as the Zebras interim coach, with a mandate to take charge of a preliminary round of Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Eritrea but the match did not take place as the latter pulled out of the competition.
He would later be given a mandate to prepare for a friendly match against Tanzania during the March international break. Once again, the match was aborted at the 11th hour. Mpote has in the past been appointed to take charge of the team on an interim basis. In 2019, he took over from the late Major David Bright. He then guided the team to the COSAFA Cup final before he paved way for Belgian, Adel Amrouche. Last week, the BFA said Mpote will prepare the team during the early stages of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers.
The Zebras are in Group J where they will face Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, and Libya. The Zebras begin their qualifying campaign next month. Ivory Coast will host the 2023 AFCON finals.