Ashford Athletic head coach Curtley Daniels (pictured left) says he is relishing the prospect of coaching the Safa Cape Town Academy team at the upcoming Engen Knockout Challenge.
The 28-year-old Daniels, who succeeds Lwazi Galada, will soon be officially unveiled as the region’s head coach for the upcoming Engen Knockout Challenge to be held at the Erica Park Sports Complex in Belhar.
Needless to say, Daniels has been a revelation with Ashford this season, guiding them to a top four position in their debut season in the Third Division against all odds – which is not too shabby at all, and this appointment can also be seen as the fruits of Daniels’ labour.
And now that Daniels is in the company of legends such as Keith America and others, his career as a coach will only further develop in the future.
According to Daniels, a former Bayhill winning coach with Grassy Park United in 2023, this is a “good opportunity and a nice challenge” to further grow as a coach.
“I’m looking forward to it and working with players from all over Cape Town,” Daniels told No Bones with Jones. “We have a week and a bit to prepare for the tournament, so this will be a test of the coaching and a nice task of managing players whom I probably found exciting to watch when I coached against them,” he added.
The Engen will indeed be a baptism of fire for Daniels, given the fact that he also has limited time to prepare his squad and see if they can overthrow the reigning champion Cape Town City FC – but Daniels has shown in the past he is never intimidated by the big occasion and takes everything in his stride.
