South African outfit Black Leopards have announced the appointment of Ghanaian coach Maxwell Konadu on a three-year deal, with a mandate to gain promotion back to the DStv Premiership.
The 51-year-old Konadu, who joins from Nsoatreman FC in Ghana, has been handed a significant task by Lidoda Duvha management to guide the team back to the top flight, having been relegated in 2020/21.
Leopards chairman Tshifhiwa Thidiela confirmed the appointment, revealing that the Ghanaian coach has already reached an agreement ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, replacing Spanish-born coach Alejandro Dorado.
“Ja, it’s true we can confirm that we’ve reached an agreement with one Maxwell Konado,” Thidiela told reporters.
“He’s a Ghana national. I think he was also playing for the Ghanaian national team.
“He was coaching currently in Ghana Premier League. He just recently completed the Ghana FA Cup there. MTN FA Cup. He won it.
“The team he was with finish fourth. He’s 51 years old, and he’ll be here for, to reach an agreement for him to be here for three seasons.”
“We are confident that he will be able to do well. And it’s unfortunate or fortunate, the league that we’re playing in, that we only playing for one thing, one thing only which is for promotion.
“So that’s what the mandate is going to be, and that’s what we are all gunning for”
“I think if you look at his CV it speaks volume. Obviously because we want to achieve, we want to then get the best that we possibly can that can fit properly.
“Not only looking at… You know sometimes we look at just qualifications, but you know you need to have an overall or better eyeview so that you see if this person can fit in the Black Leopards puzzle, and if this man can be able to fit perfectly for us to achieve our objectives.”
Konadu has previously worked as assistant coach of Avram Grant at Black Stars and also at Asante Kotoko. He also led Ghana's U20 and U23 teams and completed both the CAF Coaching Licence A and B.
The new coach will be given the freedom to bring two staff members along, with Solly Luvhengo as his assistant, Thendayo as goalkeeper coach, and Ndlovu as physical trainer. The club will finalize the appointment of a physio and analyst in the coming days.
Black Leopards are eager to bounce back to the top division after a disappointing relegation in 2020/21, and Konadu is expected to play a key role in achieving this goal.
