Current hierarchy holding Bafana back
BAFANA Bafana will never win a World Cup with the current Premier Soccer League (PSL) hierarchy in charge.
When Bafana won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, the national squad always had at least two weeks to prepare. During the tenure of current coach Hugo Broos, the team has never had more than three days.
In earlier times, the PSL would be mindful of the well-being of Bafana and competitions would be suspended for tournaments like Afcon.
Nowadays the PSL cram in extra tournaments under the guise of making money for clubs.
There was a time when clubs were keen to have players in the Bafana squad because it opened the way for an overseas club to notice their talents. It also helped South African players to acquire work permits to play abroad.
The recent Carling Black Label Cup is a case in point. After the weekend’s matches, the bulk of the Bafana squad, chosen primarily from the “big three” Premiership clubs (Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns), was run into the ground.
The players had just come off an exhausting three-week spell in which the league played its final two rounds of fixtures, including the showpiece Soweto derby, ahead of the World Cup break. Next up was the MTN8 final, and then the Carling Black Label Cup.
By the time the players had to report for a Bafana camp in White River, Mpumalanga, on Sunday, less than 24 hours after the all-day soccer festival at FNB Stadium, Broos was left with an injury list the length of Long Street in Cape Town.
Early during his tenure, Broos had commented on the standard of the PSL and the lack of players in Europe’s elite leagues. Over the years, SA had far more players plying their trade abroad and as a result, Bafana was stronger, although the team was never given a chance to play to its full potential.
Some critics will point to the fact that none of the foreigners playing in the Premiership are good enough to play for their countries in the World Cup. Earlier this week, Ghana goalkeeper Richard Ofori, who plays for Pirates, had to withdraw from his national team’s squad because of an injury and that means no PSL player will be at the World Cup.
The situation worsens when it's Cosafa Cup time because Bafana have to rely almost solely on players from the Premiership. The few Premiership players who were offered had hardly played this year. When they were called to action, they were found wanting and the team suffered ignominious defeats.
It did not also help that Broos was allowed to withdraw from the Cosafa Cup and this is something that Safa must reconsider. The Bafana coach should spend as much time with the national team as possible.
This time Broos is very happy with the teams that have been lined up for friendlies this week. Angola and Mozambique will be the opponents. In the past, Broos’ preparations were sabotaged because he could not always play friendlies against strong opposition, and often the matches did not take place.
Broos has also continuously asked to meet the Premiership coaches so that he can share his thoughts on how he plans to use players, and the type of game he wants Bafana to play.
The PSL hierarchy is not interested and the meeting will remain a pipe dream for Broos.