Back in the day, South Africa used to have some of the best players to ever been produced from the country leave to ply trade overseas, and some of those former greats include Ephraim 'Jomo' Sono, who celebrated his 68th birthday on Monday, as well as the late Patrick 'Ace' Ntsoelengoe, who both played in the United States.
Kaizer Chiefs chairman Kaizer Motaung, as well as Bafana Bafana legends Doctor Khumalo and Shaun Bartlett are some of the stars from Mzansi to have played in the MLS.
With cries in the country about lack of enough players playing overseas in recent years amid the deteriorating standards in the national teams, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel after all, if some of the movents in this transfer window are anything to go by.
Following the departure of Njabulo Blom from Chiefs in January to join St Louis City, more young stars from Mzansi have attracted interest from the MLS amid so much excitement in the country.
Defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns have confirmed interest from North America in the services of rising star Cassius Mailula, who is expected to leave soon, while Stellenbosch FC have confirmed the departure of Olwethu Makhanya to Philadelphia Union.
Bafana striker Bongokuhle Hlongwane has already been making a name for himself in the MLS with Minnesota United where he has been scoring goals, having joined from Maritzburg United in January last year.
Katlego Ntsabaleng, who is a winger from Gauteng, is another one in the MLS where he is playing at Dallas FC.
An advocate for football development, former Black Leopards coach Abel Makhubele who has previously served in the SAFA youth structures, commends the latest exportation of Mzansi's young talents.
The Good
"It's always good for South African football to have players who are learning how to play football from other countries. I always advocate for the fact that South Africa have footballers who possess immense talent. In South Africa, things like a skill is inborn. Our players are born with natural talent and skills. It is pleasing to see that players are going abroad. It will make South African football to grow. If we can have players at clubs in the different parts of the world, it will be good for the growth of our football. I think there are a lot more youngsters that will be going overseas in the coming months or years," said Makhubele.
The Bad
"This country has always had talent when it comes to football and it's just that it hasn't been well exposed. But people are starting to realise that we actually have some of the best football talent you can get. People who have visited to see how we are doing in terms of talent can tell you how good we are the best in that. For our players, it would just be about learning about the environment and all those things but we have no doubts about their abilities," he said.
The Ugly
"In some countries, there are rules that players who haven't played a certain number of games for the national team can't be allowed to play in those leagues. Maybe that's what could delay us in terms of our players going to certain countries in future. But at least in England, I think the number of caps for players to be allowed in the league has been reduced. It's no longer very strict. You must remember that Percy Tau should have played there earlier than he did after he signed for Brighton Hove Albion but because of such rules he had to go to Belgium and so forth. If it wasn't for such rules, I think we've got so many good players who would have made it at different clubs around the world over the years," the coach added.
"I Wouldn't Like That To Be Implemented"
"My issue is with the coaches that come and coach here. SAFA should implement a regulation where for any coach that comes here there should be certain requirements to be met. In terms of players, I don't have any issues. Football is a funny game because you can pick up a player from nowhere who is very good, and if we can implement such regulations about the number of national team caps and so on, a lot of talent can miss out. I wouldn't like that to be implemented. That's why even in England it is weakening because they realise that they are missing out on a lot of talent from other countries such as Belgium and others that do not have such regulations," concluded Makhubele.
Which other countries should SA look to send young talents to?
