Bafana Bafana fans were disappointed at the recent Nations Cup

South African football authorities have agreed on a radical plan to build a better national team ahead of the 2010 World Cup finals.

It will turn the Bafana Bafana into a separate professional outfit with a top international coach who will have the freedom to build the team without interference.

The plan comes after the national team failed to go beyond the group stages at the last African Nations Cup in Egypt.

"We needed to move Bafana Bafana away from the general administration of Safa," South African Football Association (Safa) president Molefi Oliphant told the local Sunday Times newspaper.

"This new structure will make sure that Bafana Bafana, the flagship of Safa, will get all the attention they deserve.

"People always blame Safa when the team underperforms but now there will be accountability."

Meanwhile, with the national manager's job still vacant, the names of Luis Felipe Scolari, coach of Portugal, Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Swedish-born England coach and Dutch coach Guus Hiddink are in the frame to fill the post.

All three men are coaching teams at the World Cup but would become free agents after the tournament ends in July.