Akan joins new South African club

TRIPLE league champion coach Ali Akan has left for South Africa to take up his new job at Mvela Golden League side FC AK.

Akan has agreed to a two-year contract with the club, after he was offered to sign for a period of five years. He said he accepted to go for only two years at this stage, but will consider extending the deal depending on the performance of the team.FC AK are currently in fifth position 48 points from their 30 matches.Akan said he aims to get the club into the South African Premier Soccer League as soon as he takes over.Akan, who is widely known as the most outspoken coach in the country, is a Turk by nationality and came from that country in 1995 to look for a coaching job in Namibia.He was employed by Orlando Pirates at first, before moving on Black Africa where he won the Namibia Premier League with them in 1999.The following year, he joined Blue Waters and also clinched the league title during the 2000/2001 season, before he moved on to Ramblers.Before that, Akan also served as the technical advisor to the Brave Warriors and was involved in the match against Morocco in Windhoek that the Warriors drew 0-all.He was not as successful at Ramblers, and instead joined Tigers where he reached the final of the NFA Cup, the country’s most lucrative cup competition.After losing the final in that competition, Akan joined Civics, the team with which he won his third league title as a coach during the 2005/2006 season.With Civics, Akan also set a Namibian premiership record of 23 undefeated matches during his 16 months in charge of the team as head coach.After that, he joined Mvela Golden League side City Pillars for a brief stint and left because of financial problems within that team.He said the club still owes him part of his salary while he was the coach there.Orlando Pirates, with the new management under Mabos Vries as the chairman, decided to hire Akan again during the second round of the premiership this season.He practically pulled the team from the jaws of relegation after they were lingering in the second-last spot of the log at one stage.With Pirates, Akan managed to reach the final of the NFA Cup this season, but lost to African Stars in an epic final, that saw the winners taking the trophy for the first time in its 54-year existence.Akan also gave his input on youth development level and has been the coach of the Hardap Region for the past three years.He won The Namibian Newspaper Cup with the regional team in 2005 and also reached the final of the same competition in 2006.Akan yesterday thanked the Namibian football authorities for their assistance during his service as coach of several premiership clubs over the years.”I appreciate the contribution everyone has made in my coaching career and I wish all the officials of the respective clubs and the players the best in the future,” he said.He also had a word for the Brave Warriors, saying that he hoped the team would fare well in the qualifications rounds of the African Nations Cup.He however said the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and the players in the Brave Warriors camp should always try to resolve issues amicably in future.He said this after a player demanded payment from the association for their international friendly match against Zambia about two weeks ago.This has created the impression that the NFA does not keep its promises of paying players after international matches.He said he accepted to go for only two years at this stage, but will consider extending the deal depending on the performance of the team.FC AK are currently in fifth position 48 points from their 30 matches.Akan said he aims to get the club into the South African Premier Soccer League as soon as he takes over.Akan, who is widely known as the most outspoken coach in the country, is a Turk by nationality and came from that country in 1995 to look for a coaching job in Namibia.He was employed by Orlando Pirates at first, before moving on Black Africa where he won the Namibia Premier League with them in 1999.The following year, he joined Blue Waters and also clinched the league title during the 2000/2001 season, before he moved on to Ramblers.Before that, Akan also served as the technical advisor to the Brave Warriors and was involved in the match against Morocco in Windhoek that the Warriors drew 0-all.He was not as successful at Ramblers, and instead joined Tigers where he reached the final of the NFA Cup, the country’s most lucrative cup competition.After losing the final in that competition, Akan joined Civics, the team with which he won his third league title as a coach during the 2005/2006 season.With Civics, Akan also set a Namibian premiership record of 23 undefeated matches during his 16 months in charge of the team as head coach.After that, he joined Mvela Golden League side City Pillars for a brief stint and left because of financial problems within that team.He said the club still owes him part of his salary while he was the coach there.Orlando Pirates, with the new management under Mabos Vries as the chairman, decided to hire Akan again during the second round of the premiership this season.He practically pulled the team from the jaws of relegation after they were lingering in the second-last spot of the log at one stage.With Pirates, Akan managed to reach the final of the NFA Cup this season, but lost to African Stars in an epic final, that saw the winners taking the trophy for the first time in its 54-year existence.Akan also gave his input on youth development level and has been the coach of the Hardap Region for the past three years.He won The Namibian Newspaper Cup with the regional team in 2005 and also reached the final of the same competition in 2006.Akan yesterday thanked the Namibian football authorities for their assistance during his service as coach of several premiership clubs over the years.”I appreciate the contribution everyone has made in my coaching career and I wish all the officials of the respective clubs and the players the best in the future,” he said.He also had a word for the Brave Warriors, saying that he hoped the team would fare well in the qualifications rounds of the African Nations Cup.He however said the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and the players in the Brave Warriors camp should always try to resolve issues amicably in future.He said this after a player demanded payment from the association for their international friendly match against Zambia about two weeks ago.This has created the impression that the NFA does not keep its promises of paying players after international matches.