Morris aims to develop stars
HE WILL WORK WITH PROMISING KIDS
Bafana Bafana legend Nasief Morris has dedicated his time to addressing the plight of development at grassroots level in the country. Morris, a retired central defender, rose to fame through the South African junior national teams after emerging as promising star at a provincial tournament.
“I am involved in development with kids mostly, from school level up, that is my main target. Development is a big concern in our country. I would like to help the kids get better development. Some talented kids disappear after a while,” said Morris.
“Having too few teams in Cape Town also affects players that is why it is important to have a lot of tournaments in Cape Town for scouts to watch players and to have a regular school league running, like the one we had when I was in school, that ran every Wednesday.”
The number of South African players returning from overseas as quickly as they left has left many with questions around why they come back. Morris had a distinguished playing career in Greece and Spain before returning to South Africa to play in the local leagues.
“There are many benefits to playing in Europe, you look at Benni (McCarthy) and myself, we got a chance to play in the Uefa Champions league, the experience you pick up there is at a higher level than here at home. One of the main things (of playing overseas) is obviously money and when you come home you have a lot more money. I lost my father at the time when I decided to come back and my daughter was here in Cape Town, so I decided to come back to be with her. I had a good time in Europe, but I had to come back,” adds Morris.
Looking back on some of the financial decisions he made at the height of his success, playing for teams such as Aris Thessaloniki, Panathinaikos, Racing Santand- er and Apollon Limassol, Morris wishes he could have invested more money in property for his family and himself to live off. The former Santos FC defender has successfully completed his Uefa B coaching licence and is urging former players to join initiatives that are aimed at developing youngsters and improving the level of football in South Africa. “I can’t think of any pro footballer in South Africa with triplets, I think I am the only one, the kids are keeping me busy” said Morris jokingly. “I think it is important for us as former players to get our coaching licences and to get involved in working with young players. “We need a lot more qualified coaches because the problem with development in the country is big.” Morris has carried his ambitious spirit into his retirement and continues to set new goals from himself – the proud father of five also believes the next big thing in sports is tackling the lack of playing facilities in the country by investing in artificial pitches.