Questions were raised in the South African media last weekend, whether Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos' salary is affordable.
Respected figure in SA football Augusto Palacios speaks to Soccer Laduma exclusively about keeping the Belgian or hiring a local coach.
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The former Bafana Bafana coach and well-known development mentor believes SAFA should work tirelessly to keep Broos.
"If you look at what coach Hugo Broos has done you can't afford to lose such a coach. For the first time after a long time he took the team to the Afcon semi-finals with players most people doubted and that is great work," Palacios told the Siya crew.
"If he is worth the salary that SAFA is talking about then the best way is to find a way of keeping him. You can't lose such a coach right now. If the issue is the salary then the powers that be should work on that and make sure he stays. He deserves that and he has to stay," Palacios observed.
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The former Orlando Pirates league-winning coach further stated that it doesn't matter whether the coach is local or not; as long as he is doing the right job, that SAFA and the country at large should keep such a coach.
"Look at the players he has been bringing into the national team. They are players that he believes in and are doing great work for the team and the country. We are now in the qualifiers for both Afcon 2025 and the World Cup 2026 and can't be thinking of changing coaches as that will disturb and destroy the team. We are on the right path so let's keep on doing well with the coach that we have," Palacios concluded.
Reports about the affordability of Broos' salary were later denied by the South African Football Association. SAFA then went on to state that they are still on track with their national teams, including Bafana Bafana, hinting that Broos' position is secure.
"We will not be detracted from our plans, and we are fully focused on continuing to work on our programmes with the junior and senior national teams," stated SAFA.
