Ex-players can’t sit out forever

After the Safa presidential election where Danny Jordaan emerged victorious, we reported a sad story of Bafana Bafana legend Lucas Radebe this week bemoaning the lack of opportunities for former players in the upper echelons of local football.

Radebe has just been appointed by CAF to be part of its technical committee alongside other legends such as Khalilou Fadiga of Senegal and Cameroon’s Geremi Njitap, but nearly two decades after his retirement, there’s no place for him in any structure in South African football.

Instead, last week we saw Jordaan shamelessly re-elected for a third term as Safa president, despite having presided over Bafana’s decline and humiliation over the past decade.

SA football has, in fact, made it a habit to close doors on exprofessionals, with PSL clubs hardly giving former players a chance to coach, even in the lower structures. It is a shame.

Radebe is undoubtedly one of SA’s best ambassadors, having played for and captained English premiership side Leeds United for a decade. Today, he’s recognised elsewhere other than in his own country, where geriatrics continue to hog leadership roles.

But encouragingly, elsewhere on the continent, the face of football is quickly changing, with former footballers taking over.

Only last year, Samuel Eto’o took over as president of the Cameroonian Football Association. The four-time Africa footballer of the year no doubt has a solid voice, having played at the highest level. In a video clip which trended on social media, Eto’o, the former Barcelona star, could be seen admonishing Cameroon players for struggling to a 1-0 win over Burundi on June 9. He warned that some could miss out on selection for the World Cup in Qatar later this year. Listening attentively was coach and former teammate Rigobert Song.

Now contrast that with a Bafana dressing room: what would Jordaan tell players after a loss? Would we not rather have Radebe imparting his knowledge to these youngsters? But the likes of Jordaan would rather stay on in spite of our football regressing under their misrule.

The time will eventually come when SA football will move forward with the likes of Radebe.