By DOMINIC PEEL

TO MANY it may have come a bit late, but South Africa’s soccer bosses are out looking for a technical director to improve the lot of their national teams.

The SA Football Association (Safa) will start the process next week by advertising for the post of Football Technical Director.

The technical director’s duties are widely varied, as the task of the new person would be to assist coaches to ensure all national teams qualify for all international competitions such as the Olympics in 2010, and the All-Africa Games a year later. Another responsibility would be to try to ensure Bafana Bafana win the 2012 African Cup of Nations. The post is part of the 2010 Technical Legacy Programme, which was set up in reaction to the poor performances by South Africa’s national teams at African and World Cup competitions.

The project, the brainchild of Safa president Molefi Oliphant, is geared to review Safa’s development strategy aimed at “corrective measures where gaps are identified”. Safa communications director Morio Sanyane said the technical director “will drive the development programme of the association” and serve as head of all technical structures.

According to an agreement between Safa and Fifa, which was confirmed by Sanyane, the director of soccer would be a South African national and would not have any direct involvement in the day-to-day coaching of the national teams.

“Santana is still the man in charge, but would, in conjunction with the different national coaches, be responsible for determining what style of play our teams adhere to,” he said of Bafana coach Joel Santana. “It has been agreed with Fifa that the technical director will be a local and we are also hoping to employ an assistant (also South African).

“The conclusion of the process will obviously depend on the response we get, but we hope to conclude the process by the time we go for the Christmas break on December 12.”

It came to light that former Seychelles and Rwanda national coach Michael Nees was originally offered the job, but according to chief executive Raymond Hack, Safa had to backtrack.

He said the offer had to be rescinded after a “decision was made by the Safa technical committee to offer the job to a South African coach”.

Hack said Nees has now been employed as an education officer and his salary is being paid by the German Football Federation (DFB) under a co-operation agreement. “We settled on Nees after the first two coaches offered to us by the DFB did not work out,” he said.

Nees is currently working under coaching and education head Conte Khubeka.

The Safa chief also reiterated the fact that national coach Joel Santana would interact with and not report to the new technical director.

The blueprint states that the technical director must assist national coaches to ensure all national teams qualify for all international competitions such as the Olympics in 2010, the All-Africa Games in 2011 and also ensure that the national team win the African Cup of Nations in 2012.