Senong delighted that young players are making their mark

One can feel a sense of satisfaction when Amajita coach Thabo Senong (right) starts speaking about the players who represented the country at the Under-20 Afcon in Zambia and the Under-20 Fifa World Cup in South Korea.

The reason for this that many of his squad that played at these tournaments, players like like Wiseman Meyiwa at Kaizer Chiefs and Grant Margeman and Tercious Malepe at Ajax Cape Town, are starting to play regularly for their respective clubs in the Absa Premiership. Many others, meanwhile, are playing in the MultiChoice Diski challenge and the National First Division.

Senong believes the future of South African football is bright, and all these players, who were also part of the national Under-17 team, will now fall straight into the Under-23 national team setup, with the 2020 Japan Olympic Games qualifiers starting next year.

“We are obviously proud and happy as Safa coaches to see most of the players that competed in Zambia Afcon and Korea World Cup that they are now playing for their respective clubs in different leagues. Some are getting minutes in the MDC, some at a high level which is the PSL (Premiership) like Meyiwa, Margeman and Malepe. But also in the NFD, Sandile Mthethwa is excelling at Richards Bay. So, yes we are fortunate that for the first time coaches are now giving these young players a chance to play.

“Their talent will be fasttracked. And when the Under-23 programme starts they will probably be more mature and they will help South Africa in terms of qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games.”

With continuity on his mind, Senong says it doesn’t mean that players who weren’t part of these tournaments will be left out of the team.

“We must always make sure we create and maintain a bigger pool, so that we can always address challenges such as loss of form, injuries, and players going off the rails because of social factors like behaviour and discipline,” added Senong.