USA apprenticeship not taking Simphiwe Dludlu away from the dugout

By Mazola Molefe
6th September 2023

Banyana Banyana assistant coach Simphiwe Dludlu has hinted her trip to the USA on an enrichment program only arms her with the knowledge to pick up where she left off with the female U17 side as a sole tactician.

Dludlu jetted out to Colorado Springs last week Friday and had spoken exclusively to SABC Sport prior to her departure.

"When I was still studying, I was coaching already and when I finished studying I continued into coaching. Now with the under-17s being at the SAFA Football Girls Academy, being roped into Banyana Banyana, being at TUT [Tshwane University of Technology] and also, I coached at TUKS [University of Pretoria]. There was always studying and coaching at the same time and the under-17s probably are still waiting for me to come back and see how is that program going on and it doesn't end there," Dludlu said.

An ex-player and captain of the senior women’s team, Dludlu has made the natural progression and is seen in football circles as potentially the next national side head coach a few years from now.

She said SAFA’s investment aligns with her calling.

"Why SAFA also picked me as one of the candidates is because I've almost done a 360. In that, how can they empower me more like there've empowered all of us in women's football because the CAF A license that we did in 2015, it was a lot of the ex-players of Banyana Banyana and women specifically," Dludlu added.

"So, it continues speaking to the development of women's football in South Africa and SAFA is playing an integral part in giving me an opportunity to have coached the HPC, coach at under-17, under-20 and now roped into Banyana Banyana."

Dludlu is not limiting herself to just working in South Africa.

"I think it's going to help me to grow. It can challenge me to go anywhere in the world and coach. It can be in South Africa, it can be with a men's team, women's team, anywhere but it's just to build on what already have and to allow me to grow further from what I already have and what I can achieve in the future."

The SABC Sport analyst is currently at the University of Delaware and will move to the University of North Carolina before circling back and then returning home on 22 September.