Behind Kwanele Kopo's turning down of Chippa United’s offer

It’s understood that chief among those is Kopo’s interest in pursuing other options coming his way at international level as well as closer to home in Gauteng. 

SABC Sport last week reported that Kopo was in line to join Mammila in a three-man technical team alongside former All Stars coach Sinethemba Badela. 

The idea of Kopo and Badela making a return to their home province had its merits, with the former hailing from Tinara, Kwanobuhle, which forms part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, and the latter coming from Stekspruit in the uKhahlamba District.

For almost a decade now, the 48-year-old tactician has also been involved with the South African national teams, having served as Molefi Ntseki's assistant at the 2015 Africa U17 Cup of Nations (AFCON) and FIFA U17 World Cup tournaments.

He also assisted David Notoane in the AFCON U23 and 2020 Olympic Games setups, while he again worked alongside Ntseki at Bafana from 2019 until 2021.

SABC Sport has now gathered there’s a strong possibility Kopo could instead continue his journey with the national association, potentially being roped into the COSAFA Cup technical team in July. 

This would almost certainly be a safer environment than the unstable Chilli Boys’ technical bench – his decision not to take up Mpengesi’s approach coming as no surprise. 

As one of only a handful of coaches at the elite level coming from the Eastern Cape, it’s understood that, when the timing is right, Kopo would consider working for his home team, according to SABC Sport sources. 

Efforts to get comment from one of the most qualified coaches in the country – holding a SAFA Pro and CAF A Licence – proved unsuccessful at the time of publishing.