Hunt set for coaching course to comply with CAF regulation

Hunt currently holds a UEFA A Licence, but CAF have made it mandatory to possess at least a CAF A Licence or a Pro Licence from another confederation (UEFA, AFC, etc.) to occupy a spot on the bench during the Inter-club competitions.

The likes of Marumo Gallants, Cape Town City and Royal AM already fell victim to the regulations, with coaches Dan Malesela, Khabo Zongo, and Eric Tinkler all having to occupy the stand during their respective teams' CAF matches last season.

However, in a last-ditch bid to ensure Hunt retains his place on the bench, SuperSport are pulling all the stops to ensure their lead tactician manages to do a conversion of his UEFA A licence to CAF’s equivalent through a specialised course.

"Gavin's applied to do his refresher course, which would make him eligible to sit on the bench. We've got Roscoe Krieling [DDC assistant coach], who is fully certified and qualified to sit on the bench in Africa if we need," Matthews recently indicated. 

"Because the rest of our team is also pretty young from that point of view like Thabo [September] is still doing his licensing, Andre [Arendse] is still doing his licensing."

Matthews further highlighted that should the need arise, they won't hesitate to send Hunt to one of the neighbouring countries to complete his course and obtain the necessary qualification to be present on the touchline next season.

"SAFA have indicated that [a course will be held soon]. If we have to send him out the country, which would be very sad for me if that's the case, but there have been a limitation of certain courses offered in South Africa for a while," he added.

"And we can't just sit back and allow that, so if we need to send Gavin abroad then we'll have to do that. I mean, it would be an absolute travesty for me if a South African coach has to go to Zambia to get a license to participate in CAF.

"I don't think Gavin is going to be the only one in that situation, so I'm hoping that will all be resolved with SAFA in the weeks ahead."

Sekhukhune United coach Brandon Truter holds a CAF A Licence, making him eligible to sit on the bench when they make their Confederation Cup debut next season.

Babina Noko will contest the second-tier continental competition by virtue of finishing runners-up in the Nedbank Cup to Orlando Pirates, who earlier secured Champions League qualification by ending second in the DStv Premiership.

Pirates mentor Jose Riveiro holds a UEFA Pro License, while Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has a CAF A License.