While the standard of the South African professional league has constantly been commended over the years as a result of the money involved and infrastructure among other aspects, there has been a debate on the quality of players.
With the PSL ranked among the best leagues in Africa and in the world, there have been concerns on what seems to be the reducing standards in the quality of players produced in recent years.
The dwindling numbers of Mzansi players plying their trade in some of the top European leagues have been some of the main points of reference in that regard.
In one of his latest interviews in the media, African football legend Didier Drogba mentioned that despite Mzansi being the best league on the continent compared to countries like his own Ivory Coast, Nigeria, as well as Senegal, Mali and Cameroon among others, he feels that those countries' leagues produce far better footballers than the PSL.
In various local debates, big clubs such as Kaizer Chiefs and others are often being pointed at as examples for not producing enough young talent of their own, when compared to the past when stars like Jabu Pule (Mahlangu), Junior Khanye, Nhlanhla Kubheka and many others came through their ranks and did well in the first team.
Local agent and talent identification scout Wellington Machaba, who has had players at Chiefs' development and senior team, has discussed what could be the reasons for the regression.
The Good
"There was once a time when some of the South African clubs got it right with youth development, and talented youngsters were being produced consistently and they were doing well. During the days of Ajax Cape Town (now Cape Town Spurs), some of the top players came through the club's youth system, and I am talking about the likes of Thulani Serero, George Maluleka, Clifford Ngobeni and several others. The club wasn't reluctant in throwing young players in the deep end for them to showcase their talents and that was good for them and South African football. They believed in young players," said Machaba.
The Bad
"The mistake that many of the South African teams make, especially the big clubs, is that they often opt for experience at the expense of talented young players. Despite their talent and potential, young players get affected negatively when that happens because they get limited game time and fail to progress," he added.
The Ugly
"The big teams focus too much on the results and as a result they neglect their development products. Because they are looking for results, the first thing they think of is to play experienced players at the expense of youngsters instead of helping them with all the necessary support they need to learn and grow in environments of high pressure. These clubs forget that the future lies with the youngsters and that they need to be protected so that they can grow and produce those desired results," said Machaba.
'Only one out of 10 youngsters make it'
"For the clubs, it is all about pressure – there's pressure for everyone, whether it's from management, fans and everywhere, and therefore they can't really give youngsters enough time to grow irrespective of their talent. In most cases, only one out of 10 youngsters make it in the first team at the big clubs from their own development," he concluded.
Who has been the best PSL youngster this season?
