Coach Parreira to make S.Africa debut against Swaziland

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 28 (Reuters) Brazil's World Cup-winning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira will take charge of South Africa for the first time on March 13 when they play a friendly against neighbouring Swaziland in Johannesburg.

But the South African Football Association (SAFA) said today the match will have no official status and will serve only as a ''training game''.

Parreira, 64, a World Cup winner in 1994, asked officials to organise a fixture so he could look at local players before naming his squad for the March 25 Nations Cup qualifier in Chad.

SAFA chief executive officer Raymond Hack said South African premier league clubs would be asked to release players for the match but it would not count as a full international.

Parreira, who took over in January, has spent several weeks watching local league and cup matches as he builds a squad for the country's hosting of the 2010 World Cup finals.

His first official game in charge will be the Nations Cup qualifier against Chad in Ndjamena.

Reuters PDS DB2116