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South African Football in the Relegation Zone

by Thaabit Kamaar
South African Football Association
Photo by [News24]

Why is football, the number one played sport in South Africa, not producing the quality of players compared to other African nations?

For the longest time, South African football has received much criticism from coaches, pundits and supporters. They have often criticised the national team for not competing at the level other African countries are at, given that South Africa has better institutions and training facilities.

Another common critique is the lack of South African players in Europe’s top leagues. And though a handful of South African players are playing abroad, more is needed to benefit the national team.

Last year, Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos lamented the quality of football played in the PSL and the below-par players it produces.

Broos said, “Again, let’s face the problem of South Africa. The problem is the level of our PSL is not high enough. We don’t make players with high quality.”

Zeca Marques,Technical Director of Balderstone Sports Institute and Former Moroka Swallows Coach, said the quality of the football league stems from the quality of coaches in the country. A coach’s ability affects a player’s development, whether positively or negatively.


Poor Coaching Ability in South African Football

Marques said, in his experience, if he had to rate an average South African football player, it would be a meagre rating for their technical abilities. He adds, in South Africa, we do not build players with stout characters to play competitive and professional football in the top-tier leagues in the world.

The problem is that they need a development strategy from a young age. Scouts see an ounce of footballing ability, and players are classified as talented. The missing link is the player needing a better coach.

According to Marques, the standard of the PSL is a reflection of its coaches. Currently, only a few good-quality coaches are at the helm of many PSL teams.

In South Africa, everyone and anyone can become a football coach. However, the courses they study do not fully prepare them for their roles. It does not equip them with sufficient knowledge and skills. It needs to teach them the fundamentals of coaching and how to nurture and develop young talented players.

“Anyone’s a coach in the PSL at the moment, and anyone is a coach in the NFD. Guy goes from a team manager to a coach, and he goes from a bus driver to becoming a coach. I’ve seen everything in this league at the moment. So what knowledge has he got? Zero. The player that is coached for the last three or four years and … When they retire, how much knowledge have they got for football? Zero.”

Moreover, Marques stresses the importance of coaches having mentors, experienced individuals who can assist and guide them. Something which is severely lacking in today’s game.

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Superior’s Influence on the Football Team

The “boss” culture in South Africa negatively affects club and national football. That is the owner’s or superior’s involvement in team affairs, which in most cases are allowed by coaches. Marques called this an extension of the chairman. It means some coaches follow the owners’ instructions concerning team sheets and formations.

Marques said that most of the time, coaches are safeguarded from any pushback made by the owners of clubs. However, players bear the brunt as owners can be harsh and disrespectful.

“[The] sad part is that, as coaches, we still get away with a lot of things, and the chairmans still respect us. I feel sorry for the players. You must see what they go through. It’s actually horrific. That same chairman wants the player to give him the result, a win on the weekend but treats him [badly] … We still get our salary, we still get a proper house and [us] coaches, we still get the right things. With the players, it’s another topic for discussion. How they get disrespected and how they are abused financially.”

This is another reason why clubs choose inexperienced coaches. They are easily influenced and controlled. Coaches like Marques and others who were trained a certain way and had years of experience tend to speak up on any decisions or comments made by anyone outside the technical staff.

 

Watch the full discussion here.

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