Gavin Hunt calls for more support and respect for Hugo Broos

While Broos has met with Hunt and TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic, Hunt is adamant Broos should have the attention of all Premier League (PSL) coaches.

"He told me what his thinking is. He asked me about players, and I gave him my opinion - cause it's only about opinion - what I think. He's a fantastic guy. A guy like that, we should be tapping into his knowledge, he's been around, older than all of us, and he's played at the highest level, he's played at a World Cup, he's coached teams that won," said Hunt.

"I don't think we respect him enough, and I don't think we give him his time of day, and I think it's been a bit disrespectful of what's happened to him, of what I hear. He told me a few stories, and I was very disappointed because we shouldn't be like that," Hunt continued.

Broos has repeatedly complained about the difficulty of meeting with local coaches since his arrival in South Africa in 2021, despite his original plan to have them all under one roof and convey his vision for football in the country.

"He's got my full support. We could learn so much from the guy, how we can improve things in South Africa. I wished him well in January. I hope he's successful, I really do."

Although he did not go into specifics, the four-time league title-winning coach shared more on his meeting with Broos, who, like himself, is not afraid to field young players. Broos monitored and selected Mamelodi Sundowns forward Thapelo Maseko during his breakout season at SuperSport United in 2022, and made headlines earlier this season when he called up young defender Ime Okon to his preliminary squad.

"He [Broos] said something very complimentary to me, which I won't repeat because I don't think it's important. A guy like Maseko, when he came in, we groomed him, and obviously, he got bought, which is part and parcel of the game. But there's a lot of groundwork being done with the boy, that's football."

The former Hellenic defender has been coaching at the highest level for more than three decades and believes closer and regular interaction between Broos and local coaches will benefit not only Bafana but also local football in general.

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