Former Polokwane City coach Luc Eymael has offered advice to PSL clubs and coaches about the ways to improve the standard of the league.
During his time in Mzansi, Eymael could be remembered for winning the Nedbank Cup with Free State Stars in 2018, among other achievements.
The Belgian mentor is currently in charge of Congolese outfit FC Aigles RDC, having joined the club in January.
Although he was last in the PSL in 2019 during his stint with Black Leopards, the 64-year-old tactician says he has been following the league and hasn't been impressed with some of the things, including the failure by Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates to compete with Mamelodi Sundowns for league titles.
The Good
"For the PSL to improve, the league needs to be serious about clubs hiring coaches with the right qualifications. When I talk about the right qualifications, I'm not talking about CAF C license and things like that. If you have a CAF C license you are not allowed to coach in Europe, do you know that? If you have a CAF A license and you go to France or Italy, you will have to do a diploma to make your qualification equivalent of what is required," said Eymael.
The Bad
"It is always not good for the PSL when Chiefs and Pirates are far behind Sundowns on the log. That's the truth. It's better to have Sundowns, Chiefs, Pirates and SuperSport United next to each other as those are the big teams. When I was in South Africa it was like that but unfortunately the level of the league has dropped. That's because clubs are recycling the coaches all the time. Who is one coach that has got new ideas in the PSL right now? Only Rulani Mokwena whether people like it or not. He is someone who can say what he wants to say whether people like it or not and he is a good coach with very good ideas about modern football. Sometimes Jose Riveiro is also good, and you can see that Pirates sometimes compete for trophies under him and congratulations to the coach for that. But in the league, nobody can compete with Sundowns," he said.
The Ugly
"With a CAF C license, you cannot coach children above the age of 10 in Europe and that's how irrelevant it is. With a UEFA B license, you cannot coach higher than division four. If you have UEFA A, you can coach from third division to second division but you cannot coach in the Premier League. In order to coach in the Premier League in those countries, you need a PRO license," the coach said.
"I don't have any diploma to be a journalist"
"I got my PRO license in 2019. My PRO license was valid until June 2023, and I had to renew it. I renewed it before June last year and it is now valid until June 2026. I see in South Africa that some of my former team managers are coaching in the PSL. How is that possible? Player agents are coaching and what is that? It's like me now saying that I am becoming a journalist. I don't have any diploma to be a journalist, my friend. I can't write stories in place of you or any of your colleagues," concluded Eymael.
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