Promising coach making his mark across the city

MARK WARD

The only certainty for any professional football coach is you will be fired.

Just ask rising football mentor Ashraf Calvert who has faced the axe on numerous occasions in the last 18 months and, needless so say, he has moved to greater success.

Calvert’s latest accomplishment is that his side, Young Bafana, reached the final of the Western Cape Second Division after beating FN Rangers 1-0 at Royal Road on Saturday to end top of the B-stream in the provincial competition with 35 points after 16 games.

His success at Bafana comes after being unceremoniously given marching orders by fellow Second division contenders at Clarewood in January this year, soon after leading them to a place among the last 32 of the national Nedbank competition.

The league has been contested in two streams with Bafana ending tops, while Zizwe clinched the A-stream also with 35 points.

The date and venue for the final has not been finalised but Calvert has already set his sights on winning this encounter. The winner will qualify to contest the national play-offs where a place among the First Division teams are on offer. The First Division is the second tier below the national Premier League.

Calvert, 32, regards his latest achievement as just another step in his ambition to coach a team in the top echelons of the country’s Premier League.

“We must still get over this hurdle and beat Zizwe. But the success of the team is down to hard work and dedication,” said Calvert.

“I have been in coaching for the past 15 years and have obtained my Confederation of African Football (CAF) A -licence and a South African Football Association (Safa) A licence. So all these achievements are part of my ambition to coach in the top league or a national team.

“I’m a coach who thinks long term about development and to develop players from grassroots,” added Calvert.

He left Vasco Da Gama Ladies prior to him joining Clarewood after leading them to successfully defend their Sasol League Western Cape title while also adding the Coke Cup to the club’s list of titles. The Vasco franchise has recently been sold to an upcountry consortium. He was also at the helm when Vasco successfully contested the national Hollywood Bets play-off during 2021.

The southern suburbs-based coach also had successful stints with Rygersdal’s under-18 side which reached Safa Cape Town’s Coke Cup semi-finals during the Covid-19-pandemic hit 2021 season.