SA football … 10 years on from hosting World Cup
BAFANA Bafana’s failure to qualify for the last two Fifa World Cups since participating in the tournament as host a decade ago, has raised questions about the country’s growth as a ‘football nation’ since 2010. Soccer writer MIHLALI BALEKA quizzed five Bafana 2010 World Cup squad members about the current state of South African football. And here’s what they had to say:
GOALKEEPER: SHU-AIB WALTERS
I think if Pitso Mosimane, who was an assistant coach in 2010, stayed (for the longevity of his contract as the Bafana coach) and was not released, we would have progressed as a nation.
All the countries that participate in the World Cup are sitting with six to 10-year plans.
Look at Belgium, they were not qualifying for World Cups but they went on to pump out future generations, and knowing that they weren’t going to do well for six years or so, they had to brew a proper squad. And they’ve done well since.
DEFENDER: TSEPO MASILELA
THERE’S an outcry that we didn’t qualify for the last two World Cups. I would like to see the new guys getting the World Cup experience. It’s a different experience altogether, believe me. But we have to wait and be patient.
I don’t like talking about the new guys as if we won anything. We can say we’ve gone backwards but what did we win? We can’t really put anything on the table and have an argument.
I know the guys are trying. We’ve qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, and in the last tournament we were beaten by Nigeria in the quarter-finals.
DEFENDER: BONGANI KHUMALO
LOOK, 10 years is a long time. There has been some sort of progress. But not as much, especially after hosting such a massive event, the Fifa World Cup.
At the time we were talking about structures, with young players getting opportunities. So, you ask yourself, has any of that been done? And that answer is no, sadly.
But in terms of opportunities in football, our league is extremely professional. Everything runs smoothly. We play in incredible arenas. So, we are blessed as a country because of that but we’ve let ourselves down when it comes to development.
MIDFIELDER: MACBETH SIBAYA
BAFANA (currently) is a reflection of where we are as a nation when it comes to football. If Bafana is where it is now, then it is where we are as a football nation. So, Bafana improves because the country is improving.
Even if we kept someone local at the helm, it was going to be another big challenge. In fact, for anyone, a local or overseas coach, it doesn’t matter.
What you’re going to get at Bafana is what you get in the PSL and development. So, we shouldn’t expect more than that. We have to look at ourselves as a nation.
STRIKER: KATLEGO MPHELA
TO be honest, the players that played in the last Africa Cup of Nations, under Stuart Baxter, were so much better. Of course, the tournament is not the same as the World Cup but I think that there was a bit of progress there.
I just don’t think that the consistency is there. Sometimes, we don’t keep the same team and there are changes.
But after the tournament (World Cup) I think things went backwards. Overall, I haven’t seen any sort of big improvements in the last 10 years.