Durban — Newly-appointed sports, arts and culture minister Zizi Kodwa has pointed towards a dysfunctional relationship between Safa, the PSL and clubs as the as the main stumbling block to Bafana Bafana’s struggles.
Kodwa replaced former minister Nathi Mthethwa in the latest reshuffle in the ministry of the national executive and has been handed a list of priority assignments in his new capacity, one of which involves the cultivation of national teams across all sports.
Since their 1996 Africa Cup of Nations triumph, Bafana have seemingly backtracked or been left behind as the global game rose to new heights.
Bafana coach Hugo Broos recently expressed that South Africa should be participating at every Afcon, a level of consistency that has evaded the senior national team for decades.
Speaking to members of the media at the launch of the Telkom Netball League yesterday, Kodwa broke down his thoughts regarding Bafana’s unsuccessful recent history and identified miscommunication between the football federation and the professional league as well as clubs as a major issue.
Kodwa also suggested that the influx of foreign players at some of SA’s biggest clubs has played a factor in Bafana’s lack of progress.
“I discussed several issues with Safa and one of the things I discussed is the performance of Bafana Bafana, the issues of Bafana go beyond our discussions, the issues of Bafana have to do with Safa, the PSL and clubs,” Kodwa said.
“We have a majority of our clubs with some of their best strikers who are foreign nationals, what that means is when a national team is to be selected, you can’t select from one of the best strikers because they’re foreign nationals and you have to select from the bench.
“We don’t have a pool of quality players from the national teams that you can select from and there’s a problem there. Without saying you can’t appoint foreign nationals, but to what extent does it help?
The minister’s thought are up for scrutiny, but have opened space for a progressive national dialogue.
Namibian sharpshooter Peter Shaluile currently leads the Premiership scoring chart, while Burundian Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana’s seven league strikes make him Kaizer Chiefs’ most potent figure.
Kodwa also revealed that one of the most positive initiatives he is currently invested in is the revamping of schools football throughout SA and feels individuals in football management and mentoring should be identifying future stars at these platforms.
“We recently watch the Caf school tournament in Durban and we saw one of the best schools in Clapham High School and I’ve never seen talent like that and I was hoping to see the Bafana Bafana coach because that’s where you identify talent at the ages of 12 and I think we must build from there if we want to build a future for Bafana,” he said.
IOL Sport