For a long time, South African football has been in a phase of building, but the recently selected Bafana Bafana and under-23s squad should make the South African Football Association and its coaches believe that there is enough talent to take the national team to the next level if things are done properly.
The squad Hugo Broos has selected for Bafana Bafana's 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers features the likes of Cassius Mailula, Teboho Mokoena, Luke Le Roux, Mihlali Mayambela and Lyle Foster, while players such as Kobamelo Kodisang and Thapelo Maseko are knocking on the door for future senior team call-ups.
The under-23 side, meanwhile, has youngsters who are making a mark in either the DStv Premiership or the Motsepe Foundation Championship. Mduduzi Shabalala, Boitumelo Radiopane, Ashley Cupido, Siyanda Msani and Devin Titus, while Southampton player Kgaugelo Chauke are part of an exciting squad that is out to qualify for the Olympics. With these players to look at, and others knocking on the door, there is good reason for the country to be excited.
Since I started working as a journalist in 2008, I've seen and heard the 'building' far too many times and, honestly, I am tired. I've watched as some of the country's most exciting players in the junior national teams disappearing in the system, while some players have not been able to further their Bafana Bafana careers for different reasons.
Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with building in football. In fact, it's great that we have an opportunity to build as a country because that means we constantly have talent coming through the system. But when do we move on to the next level? Do we stay building forever? Surely, that can't be enough for us as South Africans?
Something has to be done going forward to ensure that these two promising sides do not just excite the country for a few months and then later nothing comes of this. We need to get to a stage where we are no longer just worried about qualifying for tournaments such as the Africa Cup of Nations, but knowing that we are capable of winning the competition.
There is a solid base to build from with the players who have been selected in the Bafana Bafana and under-23 side and it's up to the country, as a whole, to ensure that the bulk of the players who are in both squads form part of the future of South African football.
This is an exciting time for South African football and everyone involved should make the most of this period or else we are going to find ourselves, yet again, saying we are building. We need to get over the period of building start making serious strides in international football, because we've stayed in the same place, or even gone backwards, for far too long.
We need a new story to tell other than the one of Bafana Bafana winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996. And this is the perfect time for Safa to put in every resource possible to see the national team succeeding and competing with some of the biggest countries on the continent.
The challenge is on those who govern South African football to bring back the respect that South African football once had on the continent.
