SA football lacks consistency
Following the recent disastrous performance of South African Under-23 men’s football team at the Tokyo Olympics, I’m not convinced that we’re a top footballing nation w we believe we are.
O Our senior men have been failing to qualify f for major tournaments like the Afcon or the W World Cup. Even on those rare occasions w when we qualified, we rarely proceeded to k knockout stages.
W When we hosted the FIFA World Cup finals i n 2010, we became the first nation ever to t be eliminated in the first round of the tournament t on home soil. We qualified for the t 1996 Afcon tournament and 2010 World Cup C finals by being hosts and not by merit. Since S our readmission to global football, SAFA S has been hiring and firing international coaches. Germany consistently supported Joachim Low in 2006 and he went on to build a formidable German side that ended up winning the first World Cup since the unification.
In South Africa, now and then, a new coach will be coming in and starting to build a team for the next tournament. Pitso Mosimane turned Mamelodi Sundowns into a formidable side after he was fired by SAFA. Had SAFA supported him like Mamelodi Sundowns did, we could have developed our national team to the required international standard. He was supported by Sundowns, and he subsequently won both the CAF Champions League and reached the Club World Cup with Downs.
Another option would be for a move for our players to ply their trade in North Africa. Football is tougher and remuneration is bigger than the PSL. If they can, our players could dream big like Lucas Radebe, who had been the most successful export by the PSL ever. Development structures and personal responsible lifestyles by individual players are key for players, their clubs and national teams to thrive.