Africa Cup of Nations-winning coach Clive Barker believes the poor state of football in Kwazulu-Natal is due to a lack of opportunities being given to local coaches.
The state of KZN football is something that is close to Barker’s heart, who is Durban born-and-bred and coached AmaZulu.
Barker pointed to Usuthu and Golden Arrows in particular, saying their troubles in recent times are largely a result of a lack of belief in homegrown talent.
“It’s crazy to bring foreign coaches all the time. If you look at the fate of Durban clubs you worry what might happen at the end of every season because of the past. I’m talking about AmaZulu and Golden Arrows,” he said.
Barker, who is an Usuthu fan, admits it is painful to see his beloved club doing so badly.
“No I’m not happy, I always follow up on their matches and they’ve got to answer lots of questions,” said the 75-year-old.
“I don’t really know where I can point fingers. They always say we are a big club. We’ve won the Coca-Cola Cup, and that about all of it for now. Big teams win trophies.”
The former Bafana coach has been away from the game due to poor health but admits a return to football is ‘long overdue’.
“It’s been long overdue. I had a setback with illness so I haven’t been able to coach at the highest level but I miss the game and I think I can offer something to what SAFA are trying to achieve with Bafana Bafana, and of course with the PSL quality of players and coaches they’ve got, we should certainly be controlling our destiny rather than watching others doing it,” he added.