Orlando Pirates have again showed how serious they are about the development of football in South Africa as they hosted the successful Pirates Cup.
The 2023 edition of the Pirates Cup took place last weekend amid so much excitement from those involved as youngsters from the different parts of Mzansi displayed their talents in front of capacity crowds and professional football coaches and ex-players and legends.
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The games took place at Marks Park and Sturrock Park, with a total of 44 men's teams and eight women's sides taking part in the competition, as confirmed by the Soweto giants.
Farouk Khan's Stars of Africa Football Academy won this year's Pirates Cup in the men's division, while Tuks Ladies walked away with the inaugural women's title during the final day on Tuesday.
Renowned youth coach and former Pirates mentor, Augusto Palacios, is delighted about the direction the Soweto giants are taking.
The Good
Strides being made to improve Pirates Cup...
"I was there and I think it's a very good initiative from Pirates. One of the main objectives for Pirates is to give opportunities to teams and players from the disadvantaged backgrounds through the Pirates Cup. Through the competition, some players will have the opportunity of ending up playing for Pirates in the future. It was full house there and it was nice to see former players like Phumudzo Manenzhe, Josep Ngake, Joseph Makhanya, Tebogo Moloi and others. The tournament was well organised and there were some really talented players. Thanks to Nkosana and Mpumi Khoza for their big role in the organisation of such a successful tournament. I saw many teams there and TS Galaxy was there, Farouk Khan was there and he won the tournament and congratulations to him. This year's tournament was much improved because there were even Ladies' teams, which was good to see. That is very good for South African football. Some of the players selected from there will be included in the Orlando Pirates Project X, where they will be travelling overseas to play some matches, and I think it is a very good initiative. There were teams from Gauteng, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and so on. The standard is becoming better every year. There were players who are also already playing in the DDC (DStv Diski Challenge)," said Palacios.
The Bad
Schools' tournaments no longer as effective...
"The problem in South Africa is that there are many talented young players who do not get opportunities to take their careers to another level like in the PSL (DStv Premiership) or National First Division (Motsepe Foundation Championship). Sometimes when you watch these players at a later stage you ask yourself, 'But where was this player all along?' You must remember that from the late 1990s and the early 2000s, Pirates was the first team in the country and the world that played seven players from development in a derby match. The problem is that some clubs tend to wait for longer before giving young players opportunities in the first team. Another problem we have is that schools' tournaments are not as effective as they used to be and that is affecting players, especially those from the townships. In other countries around the world, the majority of players from their professional leagues come from the schools' tournaments. From primary school, there are already scouts for a higher level for the players to go and here that doesn't happen. Some of the world's greatest stars like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho have gone through that process. Legends and former players could be used to coach football in schools to help the players to develop from a young age," the ex-South African national team coach added.
The Ugly
Illegitimate academies and intermediaries...
"There are academies out there who are all about money but not looking out for the best interests of the players and that is another problem. Coaches there don't have the knowledge needed for the development of players. Another problem is that some of the agents do not care about the progress of the players and all they care about is money. They are never there for the players during the season and will only emerge when the contract is about to expire and in need of being renewed. I'm not talking about all the agents, because some of them are good and do take care of their players as they should, but some do not," he said.
Summary
The Teko Modise story...
"We need schools' competition to be brought back to help in the development of football. We have the DDC and that is good and we need to have a competitive PSL and NFD (second tier league) at all times to go hand in hand. We have the talent and there is no doubt about that. Imagine if Teko Modise had started playing in the PSL earlier than he did and what he could have done more. The guy started in his late 20s but he still achieved a lot in his career. That's an example of what I'm talking about," concluded Palacios.
Are SAFA and PSL to blame for the slow progress in football development in Mzansi?
