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Baxter resigns as Bafana coach

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Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter
  • Post published:August 2, 2019

Stuart Baxter has officially confirmed that he has resigned from his position as Bafana Bafana head coach despite having three years left on his contract.

The 65-year-old mentor called a personal media conference on Friday away from the South African Football Association (Safa) headquarters.

Baxter was appointed as South Africa’s head coach on 4 May 2017 after signing a five-year contract which ran until June 2022 with the mandate of guiding Bafana Bafana to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The former Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United coach has been out of the country since South Africa return from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament where they could not bypass the quarter-finals.

Bafana only won one match by just one goal in the group stages and only went through to the knockout stages as the fourth-best third-placed team.

It was only in the victory over hosts Egypt that South Africa showed their best performance before their journey ended against Nigeria in the round of eight that followed.

Baxter has been criticised by the public for favouritism in his selections with players from former clubs Baxter has been employed at – Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United – chosen over in-form players.

In his second spell as head coach of Bafana, Baxter managed 21 games, in which he won eight, lost nine and drew four.

Speaking to the media on his resignation, Baxter said: ‘Someone should continue with this project and therefore am resigning as Bafana Bafana coach.’

‘It was my personal decision.

‘There is no monetary settlement. This had nothing to do with money. The figures quoted about my salary have been embarrassing and way off the mark.

‘I’ve had at least one lucrative offer, but I was fully committed to this country. The week before the Libya game the doctor told me I might have cancer and I said no I am leaving with this team. My commitment to the SA cause has been undoubted.’