BFA summons Bright ahead of dismissal
Mqondisi Dube | Friday February 8, 2019 12:30
Bright confirmed receiving the letter, but would not disclose further details, save to say he has responded to the BFA. “Yes, I received a letter asking me to show cause why action can not be taken. I have responded but I cannot tell you my response,” he said yesterday.
The coach’s three-year contract would be terminated by next week Friday, amid reports that he has sought legal advice on the matter. He signed the contract in July 2017. But his relationship with the BFA, sunk to new lows late last year when, ahead of an AFCON qualifier against Burkina Faso in Francistown, the coach bemoaned lack of support from the association.
Bright accused the BFA of failing to render enough support, arguing the team received inadequate preparations. But the BFA believes Bright had failed to steer the team to new heights, with the Zebras’ rankings plummeting to 150 in the world, closer to their worst ever placing of 165.
BFA marketing and public relations officer, Tumo Mpatane, was cagey with information about the coach’s impending departure. However, he confirmed that there was a review of the national team’s performance, “too see whether we are progressing or going backwards.”
“He has not been fired like what the media would like to think. The (BFA) NEC should be allowed to do its duties,” Mpatane said.
With Bright’s departure imminent, BFA will install a caretaker coach for the final AFCON qualifier against Angola’s Palancas Negras in March, with a new mentor expected to be appointed between April and May.
The BFA has been a long time admirer of Orlando Pirates coach, Milutin Sredojevic but the Serbian does not come cheap, which will act as a deterrent. During Tebogo Sebego’s tenure, the BFA tried to lure Sredojevic, who was in charge of Uganda’s Cranes then, but he proved too costly.