The Good...
It's been a long time coming, but finally there seems to be a well-run football programme that has been launched in our universities. Varsity Sports Football got underway on Monday with eight tertiary institutions fielding teams. Whether it will, "Change football in South Africa," as is the opinion of Safa president Kirsten Nematandani, I'm not so sure. By the time a player gets to university, all the fundamentals should have been taught and a player is either good enough or not good enough for professional football. However, what it does do is allow players with a passion for football to pursue their passion while getting a degree and, who knows, maybe some will filter through into the PSL. So big ups to the University of Witwatersrand, North-West University, Tshwane University of Technology, University of Pretoria, University of the Western Cape, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, University of the Free State and the University of Cape Town who will play in the inaugural Varsity tournament.
That it took a former World Cup winning Springbok rugby captain, Francois Pienaar, to give football a chance in tertiary institutions is a concern for me. If Francois could do it, why not Safa? That's the question I ask myself. And instead of Safa doing things themselves and getting their hands dirty, they seem happy to simply rubberstamp the work others are doing for them. My message to Safa? Don't sit back now and think your work is done because eight universities play football on a Monday night. We have millions of school kids, and thousands of schools where soccer isn't even offered. That's a project you must tackle, and tackle now! Bring school soccer back!
The Bad...
So SuperSport United and AmaZulu can beat Manchester City and I brag about how South African soccer is on the up, and then Orlando Pirates come along and drop two home points and fail to score a single goal against AC Leopards of Congo in a vital Caf Champions League game. The weakest team in the group at home is surely a must-win fixture. If Pirates want their second star, they need to win games like this.
Some may argue that Leopards are in the middle of their season while Pirates are only halfway through their preseason. But if South African football wants to run our football calendar in line with Europe, then clubs like Pirates who qualify for Champions League action must be professional enough to plan and prepare properly so that when the group stages begin, they are flying. That's what professional football is all about. You plan, you prepare and you execute.
How can South African clubs ask their fans to support them and take these games seriously if the clubs themselves are underprepared for the games? It reflects terribly on our football, hurts our image on the African continent and does nothing for the reputation-building of our clubs or our football brand as a nation.
If anything, it only serves to support the line of thinking that South African football is all smoke and mirrors. That, yes, the money may be here, but the quality and the strength of African football lies in North and West Africa. Teams like Al Ahly, Zamalek, Esperance and Coton Sport play a massive role in swelling the pride and reputations of their nation's football. If we are honest, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs have done very little on the African continent of late to suggest our football is catching up. It's no wonder that any African team who come up against Bafana back themselves. Which brings me to...
The Ugly…
The Cosafa Cup... what a farce this is if you're a South African. This wasn't an experimental team. This was a case of 'guess that player' every time Gordon Igesund found out someone else had pulled out and had to be replaced. And no disrespect to the guys that did duty for us in this tournament, you did everything you could. But how did this tournament and this team benefit South African football? How did it move us forward? Here was an opportunity to start piecing together a Bafana team for 2018 possibly. A tournament that meant nothing to the PSL clubs, a tournament that meant nothing to South Africans, and that should have really seen us show up with a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds and given them their first taste of senior international football. If we're going to come third in a regional event, then let's lose properly, let's lose having gained something.
Why was 17-year-old Morne Nel from SuperSport United, who held his own against Manchester City, not in that Bafana team? Why not have a look at 18-year-old Lorenzo Gordinho or 19-year-old Simphiwe Mtsweni from Kaizer Chiefs? What about Nhlakanipho 'Nanana' Ntuli and Tshepo Liphoko, the talented Bucs youngsters? It's players like these that we should be working with for the future.
So yes, we have lots of good in this country when it comes to football, but there is still far too much bad and, unfortunately, heaps and heaps of ugly.
Shapa, Clint
Follow Clint on Twitter: @SoccaClint
