By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former Bafana Bafana coach Clive Barker will be honoured with a provincial funeral service on Thursday, said Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa.
Barker, 78, died on Saturday with thousands mourning the passing of the iconic South African football figure.
Kodwa visited Barker’s family in Glenwood in Durban on Monday alongside South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan and Neil Tovey, who was Bafana skipper in the 1996 title triumph.
“It will be a provincial funeral,” Kodwa said.
“[But] there are processes that must be followed in terms of the law and policies and rules. Of course we must have the acceptance of the family first. Now that we have that, we are working with the province so that it reaches the desk of the president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Barker will be laid to rest in a provincial burial in Durban on Thursday, according to his son and family spokesperson John Barker.
There will be also be a memorial [service] for the public to celebrate and get to say goodbye to my father. We were just having the discussion about it this morning [Monday], so we will have the venue by this afternoon,” said Barker.
Kodwa said Barker is one person who should be celebrated for his role in lifting the spirits of South Africans during the infancy years of democracy as the Bafana Bafana coach.
Barker famously led the Bafana Bafana to their only continental title in 1996 and qualified the team for its first Fifa World Cup, before resigning before the tournament. He also won three league titles and numerous cups at club level in his 40-year career as a coach.