Xaniseka Raymond Mdaka (born 1 January 1970) is South African former

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and soccer manager who is the current head coach of the South Africa national under-20 soccer team. In 2025, he became the first South African coach to win a continental youth title when he won the

2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations The 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the 2025 U20 AFCON for short and as the 2025 TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes, was the 18th edition (25th if editions of the tournament without hosts are included) of ...

Personal life

Mdaka grew up in Ga-Mokgwathi village outside Tzaneen and is of

Balobedu The Lobedu or Balobedu ''(''also known as the BaLozwi or Bathobolo'')'' are a southern African ethnic group that speak a Northern Sotho dialect. Their area is called Bolobedu. The name "balobedu" means "the mineral miners", lobela or go loba � ...

heritage. He is the sixth of nine children. He matriculated at Gwambeni High School and obtained his teaching diploma at Giyani College of Education.

Managerial Career

Marumo Gallants

He led Marumo Gallants to their first semi-final at the

2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup The 2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup (officially the 2022–23 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th edition of Africa's secondary club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ...

South Africa under-20

Mdaka was appointed Amajita coach in 2024. He won the

2024 COSAFA U-20 Cup The 2024 COSAFA U-20 Cup was the 29th edition of the COSAFA U-20 Challenge Cup, an international youth football tournament open to national associations of the COSAFA region. It took place between 26 September and 5 October 2024 in Mozambique. Th ...

with the team not conceding in the entire tournament and qualified for the

. At the

he became the first South African coach to win a youth continental title after his team defeated Morocco 1-0 in the final.

References

Living people 1970 births Balobedu people South African soccer managers 20th-century South African sportsmen South African educators 21st-century South African educators {{South Africa squad 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations