FIFA details SA development crisis

The FIFA Increasing Global Competitive research document for South African football has highlighted more shortcomings the South African Football Association need to address.

Just last month, Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos had complained about the lack of coordinated programmes for South African junior national teams.

Now a FIFA report details that and more as part of its Increasing Global Competitiveness research program, which was aimed at the analysis of the talent development ecosystem in South Africa.

The 81-page report focusing on SA football was produced by the office of former Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger, who is now the FIFA Chief of Global Football Development. 

READ: FIFA points out key SAFA shortcomings

In its focus on the country™s junior national teams, the report found that teams are not exposed to a good range of opponents while the number of matches they play is insufficient to promote sound player development. 

It further notes that training camps are limited only to the periods leading up to tournaments, which was stated among the points Broos recently raised before he was forced to apologise for his utterances before the SAFA Congress.

The South African U17 and U20 nationals teams have not been active for close to two years now and will only assemble in the next few months ahead of the African Cup of Nations U17 and U20 tournaments.

The FIFA report also found that the scouting provision for talent is fairly limited due to geographical challenges and a lack of resources, with a reliance on Provincial Technical Officers, Regional Technical Officers, club coaches and player agents in this space. 

SABC Sport recently reported that SAFA had started to address the issue of lack of scouting by appointing a member of Bafana Bafana™s 1996 AFCON-winning squad David Nyathi as a national scout. 

FIFA has also noted that most of the junior national teams™ staff are part-time, including the head coaches, which majorly affects continuity within the junior national teams. 

FIFA™s technical study group made the following recommendations:

1.) South Africa has a wide talent pool and good potential for future success but introducing future teams comprising late developers and players outside the elite pathway could be valuable.

2.) SAFA should seek to participate in intercontinental tournaments to increase opportunities to compete against a diverse range of nations with different playing styles.

3.) Also introduce ongoing preparation for its junior national teams rather than a campaign-based approach as is currently the case. 

4.) Junior national teams™ technical staff could be provided with development opportunities through workshops delivered by external experts and international visits.

5.) Greater resources need to be invested in performance support services. Having access to expertise in video analysis and sports science could have a major impact on individual and team performances.

6.) The appointment of Nyathi appears to have already answered the call to revisit the plans to expand the scouting network to cover all regions. The coaches of the junior national teams appeared to rely heavily on information from club coaches that is not always reliable.

7.) The national roadshows organised by the women™s national teams represent a great initiative and should be better supported. Introducing such events on the men™s side could reap big rewards, especially in identifying players for the youth national teams.

By Velile Mnyandu