SuperSport United have made a commitment into arming veteran defender Onismor Bhasera with his coaching badges to enable him a smooth transition into his post playing days.
Bhasera has spent his thirties at SuperSport since arriving from Bidvest Wits in 2016.
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The clock on his playing career is moving towards ringing him out.
"Bhasera as our captain, 40 in the shade," says Stan Matthews, the SuperSport CEO.
"The most committed guy.
"Over Covid lockdown he was number one in fitness training at his age.
"Of course, you can see the legs are going now.
"He understands that his career is coming to an end.
"We are going to be upscaling him in terms of his coaching qualifications as we have done with many players in the past.
"I have mentioned Yeye (Reneilwe Letsholonyane) but at the club right now we have Jabu Maluleke, Thabo September, Andre Arendse, and Grant Johnson all being on high level coaching courses through the football club.
"Bash will be the next one to be upscaled in that area and maybe in the future give him a chance to move into our academy or become a part of the club because he deserves it.
"He is a great role model and has a fantastic work ethic and looks after his body, lives a clean life, he represents everything that we see as positive in a human being and footballer.
"We are just not looking at the footballer and tossing him by the wayside.
"We are looking at the footballer and saying how can we add value to a guy who adds value to our club.
"We want to be able to leave them with something that says thank you for being loyal in a time when loyalty means nothing anymore," says Matthews.
Bhasera (37) is a battle-hardened veteran who has been with SuperSport since 2016, and has previously played for BidVest Wits, Kaizer Chiefs, Maritzburg United, and Tembisa Classic having arrived in South Africa in January 2005 after being spotted at the COSAFA Under-20 Championships the previous year.
In between his time in the country, he also spent three years in the English lower divisions playing for Plymouth Argyle.
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