WHAT IS AILING SOUTH AFRICAN FOOTBALL?

Mon 31 October 2022: 

South Africa’s football team offered hope to a divided nation but has struggled to make an impact internationally.

In the early 1990s, South African men’s football team carried the hopes of millions, that it would bring together a divided nation at the end of apartheid.

In July 1992, the team was readmitted to FIFA after a nearly 30 year ban.

However, Bafana Bafana have failed to make a lasting impact and observers are divided on the reasons.

Some former national team greats say its problems come from a lack of consistency, others point to the absence of South Africans in top European leagues as an indicator of player quality.

Others say the players, and the team, need to develop their own footballing identity instead of imitating the way teams develop in Europe.

From rising force to flunking out of the group stage

Following the country’s first democratic elections in 1994, the national team looked like a rising force in African football.

Things looked promising for Bafana Bafana until the mid-2000s, boasting players such as Benni McCarthy, Steven Pienaar, Quinton Fortune, Lucas Radebe and Fish – all of whom played in the English Premier League. Then the team started to decline.

In the years to follow, Thulani Serero, Kermit Erasmus, Keagan Dolly, Phakamani Mahlambi and Luther Singh were hailed as potential saviours of South African football but have not achieved consistency.

South Africa have not qualified competitively for a World Cup since 2002. The team’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar meant it will not feature in a third consecutive World Cup since hosting the 2010 edition where it finished third in Group A.

That early exit gave them the ignominious title of being the only host nation in World Cup history not to progress beyond the group stage.

Even when Bafana Bafana did qualify for the continental event, the team has not advanced beyond the quarter-finals since 2000.

Former Charlton Athletic defender Mark Fish, who played for South Africa in the 1998 World Cup and in three AFCON events, believes a major change in the mindset is needed, and not just among the players and coaches, but also fans and the media.

Katlego Mphela during the game against Mexico in the World Cup 2010 group stages. South Africa is out of a third consecutive World Cup since hosting the 2010 edition [Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters]

“Sometimes we hear about players playing well in three or four games, and then being talked about as though they are the next best player. Even when I coach youngsters, I find that a player is quickly nicknamed Messi. I tell them they need to earn a nickname like that,” Fish told Al Jazeera.

Strong leagues make better players

Hans Vonk, who was part of Bafana Bafana’s 1998 and 2002 World Cup squads, believes the lack of South African players in Europe’s top five leagues – England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – impacts the national team’s performance.

“What we are lacking now is players who play in strong leagues,” said Vonk. “The experience makes them better players internationally.”

Current national team coach Hugo Broos, a Belgian, recently stirred controversy by saying the DSTV Premiership, South Africa’s top league, was not strong enough to equip players for the international stage, and Vonk agrees that the league is well-organised and marketed, but does not meet global standards.

Vonk spent most of his career playing in the Dutch Eredivisie before ending it in South Africa with the now-defunct Ajax Cape Town in 2011.

At the 1998 World Cup, where Vonk started all three group matches, South Africa were outplayed by France in their opening game but went on to draw against Denmark and Saudi Arabia, finishing third in Group C.

In 2002, South Africa started their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Paraguay before claiming their first World Cup win with a 1-0 victory over Slovenia.

Needing only a draw against Spain, an Andre Arendse goalkeeping error meant South Africa crashed out.

‘Must do things our way’

Masilo Modubi, another former South Africa international, believes the domestic league harms the progress of aspiring players by trying to emulate systems in Europe instead of forming its own unique football identity.

A former Chelsea youth player, Modubi spent his career in Belgium with Westerlo and Dessel Sport. He currently works as a coach with KESK Leopoldsburg in Belgium.

Modubi said the age limits in the leagues work in Europe because players start their development from the age of six or seven. In South Africa, however, that development doesn’t start until about the age of 21, he said.

“Because of the age limits, the development of players is harmed. We can pick out certain things from Europe but we must still do things our own way. Top former players in South Africa like Teko Modise and Siphiwe Tshabalala only peaked in their late 20s,” said Modubi, adding that many of the best players cannot afford to attend academies.

Former Belgian international Hugo Broos became coach of South Africa’s national team in 2021.