Born in South Africa but having cut his teeth as an agent in England, Braden Proctor's rise in the world of player representation has taken him all over Europe. His journey now sees him as a FIFA-licensed agent who is a key member of Netherlands-based agency Grand Stand. With the lack of South African exports to top European leagues in recent times, Proctor is embarking on a crusade to buck that trend. Speaking to Soccer Laduma's Kamogelo Motecwane, he sheds light on what it takes to be a top-level agent in Europe, speaks on a profound conversation he had with Cristiano Ronaldo's former agent Jorge Mendes, and names young players in the PSL who could have futures in Europe!
Kamogelo Motecwane: How did you get into being a football agent and your new adventure of being more active in South Africa?
Braden Proctor: Born and raised in South Africa, I had a different perspective and appreciation of football. I always wanted to be involved in the game; once you realise there are more facets to the game than just playing, I think that it's nice as well to marry two passions and industries together. I was always into football as well as the business and legal side of it, so I studied sports law at university in the United Kingdom. I wanted to go down the legal route, I felt a greater desire to be involved in football. I wanted to be involved in football on a day-to-day basis and the way to do it was on the player management side. While I was in university and working for a London-based agency, I did my dissertation on African football labour migration to Europe, so I was interviewing players, agents, clubs to understand how recruitment globally works because football is such a global game now, so that brought me to the conclusion that it's all about financial investment into potential growth.
KM: We hear you…
BP: So, Scandinavia, Norway, is the easiest example to use, because of recent success there, but their teams will never win the UEFA Champions League. They'll dominate their domestic markets mainly, but to survive and ultimately thrive as a business, the best way to profit for them is through player trading. They'll go to Africa because they know there is undervalued talent there, bring them in and have them acclimatise to European football in their system, because it takes time to adapt to the tempo and intensity of the football. They'll go to Nigeria and recruit a Victor Boniface or a Gift Orban at a good valuation that benefits the club in Nigeria, but further down the line the club will also benefit economically through sell-on percentages. The Norwegian club's place in the value chain is to give them their first exposure to Europe, because if they go to a more competitive league like Germany or Spain, they'll struggle because the competition is higher, you get less game time and you need to play to develop.
So, you go to a Norway to play your football, to grow as a person as well. You go there 18 till 21, and while you are experiencing a different way of life, there are also suddenly more eyes on you. If you're playing in South Africa, fewer scouts are watching because the footage is less accessible, whereas in Scandinavia, the scouts can fly out and see you. The pipeline to Europe for South African players has not been flowing like it was and that has all kinds of challenges on its own, but we're here to create structures with good professional people who know the talent. To our own detriment, we have a commercially viable league, which is fantastic because you can be financially successful here, but there are players who still want to make it abroad so it's now time to come in by helping facilitate that to come and take these guys there, to open the door for them and take these guys to these stepping-stone leagues. So, with the structures and network we have overseas and to set it up here, our vision and objective is to be a conduit to bring them that side.
KM: How much leeway do you have with the talent you bring in and where they come from?
BP: It's difficult to balance. We're a business at the end of the day, and that market is our bread and butter, with the primary objective of holistically servicing our current clients. To be honest, it makes more sense to concentrate on European players who have come through a higher level of academy background, so have a better CV, than coming and trying to find a gem here in South Africa. It's a long-term project for sure, but to have that pipeline, to start building the track record and to have more eyes on the league is my goal. It's for us to create that because football is global and the plan to move to the Netherlands was not necessarily to bring players there, but because then I'm accessible to Belgium, to Germany and to Scandinavia to create pathways; it's a short distance. I can get there easily, I can meet the clubs easily, we can service our players' needs efficiently. We're trying to facilitate that undervalued market, expose it really, and provide a platform for it to be exposed. We want to show clubs that: 'Hey, in South Africa, in that market, we can get a gem there with on-field results and potential economic upside. These players have a different dynamic and dimension than our local guys.' So, we want to find that element in a player to nurture and develop so we can help them find their place in European football.
KM: What is the general perception of South African football in Europe currently?
BP: Currently, it's not the best. I could speak to people in the industry, and they couldn't name me two players from South Africa. So, it's to bring their attention again to that, 'Hey we have a goalscorer in the Premier League.' We had Percy Tau playing Champions League as well, so it's just to make more European eyes more aware of us, because some markets are not. When they see African players, they see physical, quick guys. Stereotypical attributes that are more inclined to west Africa. Their mentality also differs. The leagues in their home nations for most do not provide the opportunity to make a sustainable career so they are driven to make it overseas, whereas our players are able to take their foot off the gas as they don't have the extent of that pressure and push factor. While the physical profile might not be there, they know there is that high energy, dynamic, good in possession and progression. On a sliding scale, the smaller you are, the better the agility, pace, variation of speed with the ball, play with a bit of flair, different to what they have. Mainly, the European boys are very similar because they all come from the same football education, so if you put somebody from South Africa into the mix, it's different because if you can get it right, it works.
KM: You met Jorge Mendes, former agent to Cristiano Ronaldo. How was that?
BP: Mendes is obviously the peak. Him, (Mino) Raiola, who sadly passed away, and (Jonathan) Barnett are the pioneers of modern agency. I don't have idols as such, but you have to understand what these people did and take notes and kind of pay homage to that. So, it was at an Association of Football Agents event in London. I went down for a discussion on industry regulations and had some time to network with the aforementioned trio, but I gravitated more towards what Mendes was saying because he is such a composed guy and set the professional standard. I took more things away from him because, among the other things he imparted unto me, he told me as a consequence of this game being so oversaturated and competitive now, he told me I should just find my niche. I had free mentorship, the conversation we had was so deep and for me it fully made it click that I should find my niche, and for me that is the South African and African market as a whole. I could easily have a sole Eurocentric vision, focus on that market; there is a large talent pool here. Less risk, clubs know what they are looking for and know what they are getting. Of course, it's an aim and objective and something that we efficiently service. But we are also globally active. There is an intrinsic passion and South Africa fires me up. I want to make an impact.
KM: Are there some young South African players you've seen who you think can make the jump to Europe right now?
BP: Yeah, for sure! There are good players, but maybe a difficult timeline in their careers to send over to Europe, but some guys at Stellenbosch are doing quite well, like Jayden Adams. Obviously, there's also (Mamelodi) Sundowns' Siyabonga Mabena, I've been watching him closely. (Relebohile) Mofokeng at (Orlando) Pirates is the one who should go abroad in the summer, because he's integrated into the first team, he's playing consistently, he contributes. It would surprise me if he doesn't go somewhere soon and I know he's had a few assessments and stuff, but maybe not at the right places, because I don't think he's suited to English football right now. It doesn't make sense for him to go play for a Premier League 2 side, I think he may need to take a different path into Europe. He'll be next to go, I'm confident about that.
KM: Who else has impressed you?
BP: I like Mdu Shabalala from (Kaizer) Chiefs, an exciting player. There's a youngster at Cape Town City, (Emihle) Witbooi. He's like 15 now, so interesting is to just see this space and make sure he's in the right environment and to keep him level-headed. Then, there's Kaka Sifumba, top talent. I think he's the one that had a lot of eyes on him and some pressure, but he has great ability and mentality. He shows signs of his quality. Maybe he could benefit with more consistent minutes, but it was great to see him start against Golden Arrows and get an assist, as well as play with intelligence. The players here need consistency and momentum, so if they can get consistent minutes, that's how they improve their game. I think everybody can see that he is a very gifted player. I think if he goes into the right place, at the right time, it's a win-win for him and his current club. He is a player that will do South Africa proud, especially because he is with the SA U20s and despite being one of the younger players, is one of the more experienced players and leaders of the group together with Shandre Campbell. He's another one who is interesting. But with Sifumba, he had a lot of the media on him two years ago, maybe people think it hasn't quite worked out as expected, but we have to understand that he is still 18 years old, so he's still really in his development window, but very level-headed with the right technical and mental attributes and qualities, so he will succeed on a bigger stage. His time will come.
KM: Thank you, Braden.
BP: Thanks!
