Sinethemba Badela charts coaching evolution after CAF A Licence milestone

Now at his second club outside the PSL, Badela is part of a growing group of South African coaches prioritising formal development. 

Speaking to SABC Sport, the former Durban City and Chippa United mentor admits instinct alone was never going to be enough.

"My coaching journey started 15 years ago, I remember I was coaching a school side, I was actually injured at that time. It was a coincidence. I was still trying to make it as a player but I enjoyed it so much that the following year I went to club football, under15s at Sporting Johannesburg then later under19s at Mondeo before joining coach Rulani at Black Poison in 2016,” Badela said. 

“I would say that is when my coaching journey really started, at Black Poison, it was intense, educational, I learnt a lot by observing, listening, doing research and spending lots of hours on the training pitch, tournaments and basically giving my life to football. 

“I realised I needed to do my coaching badges, I couldn't just coach on instincts or what I was taught in my playing days."

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A key influence on his journey has been mentor Rulani Mokwena, whom he followed to Wydad Athletic Club and now Al-Ittihad, while steadily forging his own way. 

"Coach Rulani encouraged me a lot to do my badges and supported me financially with my first coaching licence which was the SAFA D License. It was basically learning the basics, I then realised it was not enough to coach senior players especially with what I had been learning at Black Poison on a daily basis,” he added. 

“A year later I went on to do my C License, I remember it was in Soweto at the Nike centre. It was a bit more challenging than the D-License, I was looking to further my studies but then SAFA and CAF had no B Licence in the country. 

“I tried other African countries to further my education for many years without any luck. I remember messaging Lebo [Kholoane], the current Siwelele analyst, when he was in Botswana to see if I could do my B licence there. 

“If he knew someone, he tried to assist me but I could not get into the courses there at that time and that was very frustrating. I used to look at other countries to see if there's any licences, even when we went to KCC in Uganda, I asked one of the guys if there was a B Licence there but I had no luck in doing my B licence."