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Igesund's fate decided Monday

Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana head coach Gordon Igesund will only find out his fate on Monday, the SA Football Association (SAFA) said.

This was revealed after a quarterly national executive committee (NEC) meeting at SAFA House in Johannesburg on Saturday, where discussions took place around the way forward for the national team.

Igesund's current contract ends on July 31.

While speculation was rife that Igesund's future would be decided on Saturday, SAFA president Danny Jordaan said he wanted to meet with the coach first before making a decision.

Igesund is still on his way back from New Zealand where the team played to a goalless draw against the All Whites on Friday. He was expected to arrive at OR Tambo International, in Johannesburg later on Saturday afternoon.

"We cannot finalise the matter with Gordon not in the country, the national executive decided to engage him first," said Jordaan.

"We cannot have a discussion in his absence.

"The committee members will meet Igesund on Monday at 15:00. We will have a final position on the coach at 16:00."

Among other issues discussed at the meeting was the appointment of a technical director of South African football.

"The senior coach and technical director have to be able work together," he said.

If SAFA should decide not to renew Igesund's contract, they will move swiftly to find a replacement.

"If the outcome is that there will be a vacancy, we will move immediately to fill the position."

At the time of his appointment, Igesund signed a two-year contract with a mandate to at least reach the semi-finals of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which South Africa hosted, but Bafana were eliminated at the quarter-final stage - in a penalty shoot-out against Mali.

He was also expected to successfully guide the team through the 2014 Soccer World Cup qualifiers and earn the team a place in the tournament in Brazil.

In Igesund's two-years at the helm, he won three out of four World Cup qualifying matches but, because Bafana had already played two qualifying matches before he was appointed - draws at home against Ethiopia and away against Botswana - the team did not progress out of the group stages.

Jordaan would not be drawn into whether he was satisfied with Igesund's time in charge, but revealed his feelings about the national team.

"All of us want to see a Bafana Bafana that shows promise again."

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