Ian Bakala appointed new Caps United head coach

Former Nkana FC (Zambia) head coach Ian Bakala has been appointed as the new head coach for Caps United.

Bakala is a former midfielder for Caps United and is coming in to take over from Lloyd Chitembwe following a poor start as head coach.

Club president Farai Jere announced Chitembwe’s elevation to the post of technical director at a Press conference in Harare recently.

At the time he said the new coach will be assisted by former Caps United midfielder and Zambian International Ian Bakala, who is already in the country.

“Following the results which were not coming, even though we are playing very good football,” Jere said, “We then amicably decided with the current technical setup that we are parting ways, which paved the way for the new team which is coming in.”

“The new technical team is starting this weekend. We will have another Press conference on Thursday, where we will be announcing the full technical team.

“The new technical team will have our son Ian Bakala as an assistant coach. He is one of the greatest Caps United sons, the greatest midfielder that we have never seen in a long time.

“So on Thursday, we will announce the head coach who will be coming to join the team and will be working with Bakala. We believe the new coach, together with Bakala, is going to deliver the desired results,” Jere expressed confidently.

“And also, coach Lloyd Chitembwe is going to be part of our setup as the technical director of the team, but he will not be sitting on the bench. Unfortunately, the rest of his technical team will have to go and try their luck elsewhere.”

He also hinted at the criteria they used to select the new coach.

“The criteria are very simple, we give priority to the sons of Caps United who have the qualifications and have also achieved things with us.

“They know the pressure, the culture and how to win things with the club. We look to see if they have upgraded themselves in that regard, if they have Caf A or B, that’s also some of the criteria we are using to find our new coach.

“That’s why we have Ian Bakala, our former player who won the title with us as a player and also in his coaching career, he has won the title with Power Dynamos in Zambia.

“So, even though the incoming coach is a Caps United son, he knows the pressure that comes with winning the championship.

“That’s our focus because we need to be a title-winning club in the country. The incoming coach has once won the championship as a player and a coach,” he said.