7 things you need to know about newly appointed Venda coach Loftman | Breaking News

Venda Football Academy have appointed Michael Loftman as head coach. He takes over from Johnny Ferreira, who was relieved of his duties as head coach. Here are seven things you need to know about him.

1. He is a London boy, born to a Jamaican father and a British mother.
2. While studying Sports Science, he worked at Watford academy, and Manchester United star Jadon Sancho was an eight-year-old at the club. 
3. Loftman missed his graduation because he had an opportunity to DJ in Ayia Napa in Cyprus. “I was like, ‘opportunity is here’. I’ve sacrificed things for growth. I’m addicted to growth. I don’t want to be around people who are not challenging,” he told FARPost.
4. Once he had his Masters and Uefa A, he decided it was time to go abroad. He went to Zambia on holiday and met an agent and coach there. “They advised that I had to be living in Zambia for me to have a chance of being hired in the country.  I left my job and moved to Zambia; I left my family in the UK to go to Lusaka,” he said. 
5. Rulani Mokwena recommended him to Orlando Pirates’ chairman Dr Irvin Khoza after seeing a match report he had compiled. 
6. After his Pirates stint, he worked as a coach and analyst at Lommel SK in Belgium before joining Carlos Queiroz’s coaching staff when he took over the Pharaohs of Egypt. “I’ve got experience working Carlos Queiroz and the Egyptian National Team, The City Football Group, Orlando Pirates, Tottenham Hotspur, Head Coach experience in Zambia, as well as UEFA and Masters level university education  – all those are ingredients for me to become a top coach in South Africa,” he told FARPost.
7. He quit his job in North Africa four months after his appointment, immediately returning “home” to South Africa on the cusp of the continent’s most prestigious tournament – AFCON. That decision hammered home that now, the young coach identifies more with South Africa than his native Britain.

RELATED STORY: https://farpost.co.za/michael-loftman-the-making-of-a-master-teacher-and-coach/

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