GladAfrica Championship side Pretoria Callies are set to release several players ahead of the second half of the current campaign, and will have a new coach in charge.
Callies recruited a whole host of players at the beginning of the 2021/2022 season, including the likes of former Kaizer Chiefs strikers Collins Mbesuma, Edmore Chirambadare and Edward Manqele.
However, the club is now planning to keep only a maximum of 26 players to suits the new incoming technical team’s plan according to the owner of the team, Mr. Moses Malada.
“We signed many players at the beginning of the season, we had about 39 players and some could not get a chance to play,” Malada told Nyiko Sithole on MLFM SABC radio.
“With the new technical team that we are trying to put together, they did their assessment and said they need 25 players, if not 26.
“So the process forced us to release certain players to go to find jobs elsewhere, as football it’s not only about entertainment but a job to other people.
“So we ensured to keep them for the long time because we knew if we released them in the middle of the first round, it was going to be a problem for them to find jobs, so at least now the window of transfer is opened, so we are releasing some players.”
Malada has also highlighted that they will announce the new head coach imminently, who is believed to be former SuperSport United youth guru Kwanele Kopo, to work with the current stand-in coach Edwin Sitayitayi
“He (Sitayitayi) will work going forward as he has shown an interest in coaching while he was a player, and he did very well when he was in charge,” he said.
“We see a future in him, but I think soon, we will announce someone to help him as a head coach.”
The Pretoria-based outfits, who had parted ways with Joel Masutha and other members of the technical team, sit 13th on the GladAfrica Championship table, after they played 17 games this season so far.
