Can SAFA Afford To Fire Bafana's Shakes Mashaba?

With Shakes Mashaba earning around R550,000 per month as Bafana Bafana's head coach, can SAFA afford to fire him even if they wanted to?   Read: Bafana's WC 2018 Qualifiers   Mashaba's future has been the subject of speculation of late following the disappointing Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, and there was talk last week that he had come to the end of the road.   However, as next month's World Cup qualifiers draw nearer, Mashaba is still the head of the South African national team, and it looks as though he will be given the chance to redeem himself on the road to Russia.   Mashaba still has a substantial period left on his contract with SAFA following his appointment in 2014, and to fire him would mean agreeing on a sizeable settlement that would likely cost them several million Rand.   With that in mind, and as reported in this week's issue of Soccer Laduma, the Siya crew has been led to believe that the financial situation of South African football's governing body could be a major factor in whether Mashaba stays or goes.   Bafana take on Burkina Faso next month in their first World Cup qualifier, and unless a decision is made during this month's executive committee meeting on 24 September, Mashaba will be the man leading the team when that game takes place.