Today marks exactly 100 days until the opening match of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Excitement is at a fever-pitch, and people the world over are buzzing. Here at home though, it was a relatively quietly day. There's more excitement on the streets when there's a Bulls' match. There were however, a lot of cars stuck in traffic on the streets. Last minute renovations and repairs have resulted in a lot of the main roads and Highways being closed, or at best having one lane open during peak times. One wonders why it's taken so long for the country to get going.
I have no doubt, however, that the country will be ready on time and will go on to host a succesful tournament( the opening ceremony though, I can not vouch for.)
What am I worried about that though, is the state of South African soccer. For the last few years , its been a very monotonous story. Team performs poorly. SAFA says performance is 'promising'. SAFA brings in a new coach. Team performs poorly. SAFA says performance in promising. SAFA brings in a new coach, and well, I'm sure you've got the pattern.
I was in a taxi the other day, and the driver was engaged in a very heated arguement with the unenvied money-counting passenger. The driver's arguement, was that Bafana will never perform well whilst under the tutelage of a foreign coach, because only a localman can understand their style and background. South Africans love blaming the couch. Its a national pasttime, but to what extent do we can we blame the designer, and not look at the material that he has been provided.
Melusi Moloi, a soccer fanatic and development level player, when asked to comment on the condition of the team, says he'd give the currnet squad. 5 out of 10. 'They are not the best we've had, but the level of our elite players individually has improved a lot. Given enough time and a lot of development within the team, they could go on to challege for Africa in the next five years.
He brings up a good point, the issue of Developement. If one takes a look at at the younger national teams, you see that their performance is consistently good. They qualify for all the major tournaments, and generally make it to the quater-finals, at the very least. What is happening to all the talent? Where do they all disappear to?
Some blame it on socio-economic reasons. A lot of these boys come come from disadvantaged background, and make a huge leap from earning very little, to earning ( even as a pretty average player in one of the smaller clubs) well over R30000 a month. Some argue that its the sudden change of lifestyle that makes our players lazy and to some extent unpatriotic. They are no longer playing for the country, but rather for the paycheck.
This viewpoint puts the onus on the PSL to educate and counsel the players upon them being signed to the team, but this angle does not address the reason why we have so few quality players in the national squad anyway. Confusing really. when you consider all the clubs and teams that diligently play soccer in this country. For an explaination, one must look to SAFA.
SAFA has no regulated method or structure in place that enables them to spot a player at the development level, and put him through the necessary training required to be a national player. I have been watching regional soccer games for a year now, and not once have I seen any PSL or SAFA scouts at the games. Not at a national tournament that requires thier approval to take place, not even at a final. How difficult can it be to send a scout to a national final that only occurs once a year? Apparently SAFA is too concerned with inside politicking and its effect on the wallet, than it is about standard of South African soccer.
Moloi adds that as a footballing body, they are not doing enough. "There's more going on in the boardroom, than outside of it. They fail when it comes to procurement of talent and low-level training. Given our resources and economic climate, we should be competing with a lot of the African teams, and some parts of Europe and Asia." SAFA has given more attention to the "irritating vuvuzela" issue in the past year than they have to development soccer.
100 days to go, so much to do. Oh SAFA, how late its getting?
P.S. I refuse to pay exhorbitant fees for a park and ride facility that I have no other option but to use. If they're worried about funding, they should get their heads out of FIFA's ass, stop bowing to all their demands, and make some advertising revenue to pay for it. I mean really, painting over Ponte and the Telkom towers because they're visible from JHB stadium, and aren't official sponsors? Maybe we should demolish Table Mountain cause its visible from Greenpoint stadium, no one's paying SAFA for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment