I’m
writing this letter as a concern South African citizen regarding the state of
our soccer national teams.
It
saddens me to watch other countries participating on global events without
South Africa being represented. Soccer is the most widely played sport in South
Africa, with its traditional support base in the black community? For many
South Africans, the country's proudest sporting moment came when we won the African
Nations Cup on home turf in 1996. One of the first gifts that democracy brought
South Africa was its first truly representative national soccer team.
In
1992, two years before the country's first democratic election, the united
South African team came into being, playing Cameroon in its first match in
Durban on 9 July – it was a triumphant
occasion for the side that came to be known as Bafana Bafana – "The
Boys" – as they edged the West African powerhouse by a goal to nil.
However,
the win concealed the negative effect that apartheid-enforced isolation had had
on local soccer.
This
lack of international experience showed as South Africa lost four matches in a
row – to Cameroon, Zambia, Nigeria and Zambia – in failing to qualify for the
1994 African Nations Cup.
When
South Africa hosted the 1996 African Nations Cup, however, South Africa proved
they belonged in the finals by defeating Tunisia 2-0 in the final. It was
during the team's run to the title that its nickname, "Bafana
Bafana", became known around the world.
Unlike
other sporting codes such as swimming, boxing and hockey just to name a few who
struggle to get sponsors I remember government had to sponsor the swimming team
to Barcelona a team that brought a number of medals from the London Olympic
team
Below
is an illustration of the money that has been pumped up by corporate sponsors
to (South African Football Association and Premier Soccer League).
In
June 2007, the Premier Soccer League (PSL) pulled off an astounding coup when
it signed a R1.6-billion broadcast deal with SuperSport International.
In
August 2007, corporate heavyweights South African Breweries (SAB) and Absa Bank
announced a joint sponsorship of more than R500-million over the next five
years for South African football. SAB is behind Bafana Bafana, while Absa
sponsors the PSL's Premier Division.
In
February 2008, Nedbank announced that it would be putting up R20-million in
prize money for the Nedbank Cup knockout competition as part of a five-year,
R400- million sponsorship of the local game.
And
in August 2008, cellular giant MTN committed the same amount – R400- million
over five years – to the local game, while taking over the title sponsorship of
the Top 8 knockout tournament.
These
deals combined have made South Africa's Premier Soccer League the seventh
biggest earner of sponsorship revenue among football leagues worldwide
There
is much to despair at the state of South Africa’s soccer. Bafana Bafana hasn’t
lived up to the nation’s expectations and the controlling body, the South
African Football Association (SAFA), please help we love our national team
The
National Sports Plan of the Department of Sports and Recreation South Africa
and the SAFA Technical Master Plan emphasise the importance of youth
development as one of the key priorities to achieve success and competitiveness
Key challenges
honourable minister
There
are management, administration, financial and sport science support gaps in the
development of young football players in structured youth football programmes.
·
That
there are poor levels of investment in youth football development leading to a
lack of a clear and regulated system.
At
the point of writing this letter honourable minister I’m aware that the is a Fédération
Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) under-20 World Cup that is taking
place in Turkey as usual South Africa has no representative at this prestige
event and I’m also made aware that in the up and coming FIFA under 17 world cup
in November South Africa will not have a representative (this is certainly not
a razzmatazz for South African football).
It
is alarming to hear the inadequate ratio of qualified youth coaches to players
in South Africa compared to some of the giants of international soccer,
especially Spain. The shortage of such coaches, along with the absence of a
coherent development plan at the national level, is harming the game at all
levels and has contributed to the malaise of the men’s national team, Bafana
Bafana.
Why are we not using the class of 1996 in our youth structures?
Why are we not using the class of 1996 in our youth structures?
Thanks for the time spent while reading this
letter from a concern citizen.
Proudly
South African!
By Bheki
Mngadi
