The South African Under-23 coach David Notoane dropped a bombshell on Wednesday night when he resigned from his position following his team’s failure to qualify for the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) that will be held in Morocco later this year.
Notoane announced the shocking news on Robert Marawa’s radios show #MSWon947.
Failure to qualify automatically meant that SA are out of the 2024 Olympic Games because the top three countries at the Afcon will represent the African continent at the Olympic Games next year.
The South Africans were ousted from the tournament by Congo Brazzaville via the away goal rule.
The two sides played a 1-1 in Dobsonville Stadium last Friday and Congo went through to the next round after a 0-0 scoreline in the return match in Brazzaville on Monday.
Reads part of Notoane’s statement that he read out on the radio show: “I want to personally thank the president Dr Danny Jordaan and technical committee for the confidence I was given to lead the team again after the challenges of Tokyo 2020 (where U23 lost all group stages),” Notoane said.
“Sorry if I happened to disappoint you. Thanks to the clubs and coaches who were there for me during the difficult and good times, much appreciated. We fought a good fight to qualify but fell short with some young and emerging players.
“My technical report will be submitted in due course. This marks the end of my appointment which was until further notice for this campaign without any contractual obligations in period,” he added.
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