Here are a few thoughts on fixing local soccer

IN YEARS gone by, as many older football fans will attest to, the Federation League, National Football League and the National Professional Soccer League were all powerhouses in terms of the high standard of individual players that were on show. There were numerous clubs that played an exciting brand of football and this contributed greatly to a huge weekly following of fans.

Average crowds of around 30 000 at each game were the norm, and this was during the apartheid era when South Africa was banned from taking part in international football.

Now, almost 30 years down the line since the demise of those leagues, we have a situation where despite there being an increase in population and being re-admitted to Fifa since 1992, the last time South Africa qualified for the World Cup was in 2002. In 2010 South Africa took part in the biggest tournament in the world only because we were hosts. Every nation goes through difficult times, it is normal in football and is part of the game. However, most reasonable countries reach a point where serious introspection is needed and hard, cold self-evaluation must be done.

Spain and Germany are two countries that come to mind that went through torrid times at international level and decided they needed to do something urgentlyabout their situation and put new systems in place to revamp their entire structure.

The seeds of their new plans of action were planted and only after about 10-15 years did they start reaping the benefits of their efforts. Improved results at international level while at the same time creating a distinct playing identity on the field of play, were the benefits.

Even the so-called minnows of world football like the US, Croatia, Iceland and Belgium, among others, have improved in a relatively short space of time after implementing new strategies to invigorate their game.

However, here in South Africa, despite being faced with numerous challenges, those running local football don’t seem to learn from their mistakes.

The executives at Safa are mainly concerned about jostling for their own individual positions in office and those running the Premier Soccer League are all chasing their share of the pot of gold.

In my opinion it is high time that sober-minded football lovers get their heads together and assessed where we are in our current football status and decide where it is that we want to go as a football nation.

We need to re-visit the entire system as it stands because clearly it is not working. A fresh start needs to be made to ensure that we have a sustainable development programme from the bottom up and to build a strong foundation.

League structures, provincial and regional set-ups must be changed. Proper participation criteria must be enforced. There needs to be more frequent coaching courses and provincial academies must be established.

Corruption must be rooted out, and decent playing fields and facilities created and maintained, among many other issues that need addressing.

Perhaps Saturday’s Soweto derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates will provide some good cheer for fans.

Coppola is a football coach, administrator and former professional player