Aaron Mokoena: I'm the link between Safa and Bafana Bafana's technical team

Legendary Bafana Bafana defender Aaron Mokoena decided to take the route of an administrator than that of a coach as many of his former teammates such as Benni McCarthy  and Bradley Carnell have done.

“There are different roles that former players can play, and I have decided to take this path of being the link between the technical team and the association. Remember when I was the captain, I was the link between the players and the technical team, and now this is a step forward for me,” Mokoena told City Press .

The 36-year-old is delighted to be under the wing of Barney Kujane, who has been with the association through thick and thin.

“Bra Barney has been around and knows what he is doing, but he was frank with me, saying this is like an introductory course for me as there is a lot to do in this field,” Mokoena said.

“I think I will learn a lot from his experience and knowledge because he has been around the block,” Mokoena added.

The South African Football Association (Safa) has taken a new leaf of appointing former players in various positions, with Helman Mkhalele, Quinton Fortune and Andre Arendse handed various roles across all national teams.

Mkhalele for one, is doing duty with the under-20 side currently in their sojourn in England, while Fortune and Arendse have joined Stuart Baxter’s technical team as assistant and goalkeeper coach respectively.

“It is good that some of us are being recognized and getting involved because we have a bigger role to play in South African football. We have to impart the knowledge we have acquired to these youngsters who look up to us and, by so doing, hopefully the standard of our football will grow,” Mokoena said.

“The onus is on us to show that we want it more by doing courses to uplift our standard. We cannot just expect everything to be done for us just because we are former players; we need to go out there and prove ourselves. I believe this is the first step towards that and we must thank the Safa leadership for showing confidence in us,” Mokoena added.