Not enough SA footballers ply their trade abroad

We need to compete against the world’s best, week in and week out, writes Saul Kamionsky.

One of the 2018 Fifa World Cup finalists was Croatia, which has a population of four million. Yet South Africa, which has a population of 57 million, cannot even qualify for the World Cup. Therefore, this poses the question: what is lacking in South African football?

The answer to this question may be the lack of South Africans plying their trade abroad – especially in the top five leagues in Europe.

Croatia’s excellent World Cup campaign was certainly helped by the fact that all the players in their 23-man World Cup squad play for clubs in Europe.

This means they are playing alongside and competing against the best players in the world on a weekly basis, which in turn adequately prepares them to compete against the world’s best nations.

Therefore, Percy Tau signing for English Premier League (EPL) side Brighton & Hove Albion is fantastic news for South African football. This is because the standard of Bafana Bafana will increase with more local players opting to play abroad.

This is clear from the fact that most players from the five African teams that qualified for the 2018 World Cup play abroad.

For example, 22 of Senegal’s 23man World Cup squad play abroad – including five in the EPL.

In contrast, in the 4-Nations tournament held in Zambia in March earlier this year, only five of the 25-man Bafana Bafana squad played for a club abroad.