You
can take to the bank the fact that Phillip Lahm, Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer and crew
could have delayed their flight to Brazil for the World Cup and fought on the
pitch, had they been under the banner and authority of Cameroon Football
Association.
Lionel Messi, Higuain, Mascherano, Lavezzi and the squad could
have received their money sent from Accra by plane, had they been under the
control of Ghana. I am under no illusion that Stephen Keshi, John Appiah,
Gordon Igusand or even Keutsepilemang Ndebele for that matter, could have
reached the final of the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil with Die Mannschaft
under the Germany administration.
Where lays the African football problem? Regardless, all African coaches lose their
jobs in preference to the knowledgeable and expensive expatriate coaches. The
African football system is sinking. One learns from the best, the champions.
Germany today rules the world football today because of a class of players they
manufactured. I handed over a programme to identify and nurture some talent for
the 2006 and 2010 Fifa World Cup to some country’s association as a thirty year
old some years back. I still have copies, but as you as well know, they are now
as useful and cryptic scrolls with the language of the aliens.
All countries claim to have developmental structures
and programmes; South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia included. Mzansi have a fair
share of structures in place, but these are very much mediocre and
unproductive. The funding is satisfactory but it could be better. The problem
is that not many people who need to be hands-on are involved. The other issue
is that the programme promotes events than processes. Information dissemination
is really bad.
In Zimbabwe, the structures are solid and one can easily
put their fingers on the pulse, from schools to the clubs. Organised school
programmes cater for all according to their abilities to deliver. Clubs depend
on these development sides they call juniors to usher new talent. Few lazy
teams get to the market every now and then while their products are supped by
the other teams who cannot afford to splash cash.
Some clubs find themselves
answering calls from suitors each year. Potential superstars are known and
their ripe date gets eagerly waited. The weekly fixtures, results and logs are
available for the public at the Notice Boards at the offices, in the print
media, electronic media and social networks. Hence, the influx of players to
the ABSA Premier League, and most of the imports from there have dominated the
league.
The story is almost similar in Namibia and the
common factor with Zimbabwe is limited funding. One walks into the national
office and requests the database with regional players in all age groups.
The
regional structures have a direction to follow, although few still need further
persuasion. Lack of implementation is one thing, and availability another. The
structures are there, and the people have access to what they need. People on
the ground may lack the motivation to work, but they are aware what to do and
where to seek help. Above all, that help is available. The availability of
information in South Africa is a cause for concern.
Players identified in tournaments the previous year
fade into oblivion the following year. Few privileged ones, not necessarily the
best, due to the geographical or social proximity, will always be in the
limelight. These get to centres of excellence or the High Performance Centre. There
is no class of players expected to be the ‘real Bafana Bafana’ of tomorrow.
This system causes players get discovered at 23, 25 and even 27.
At 17, it is
too late to be ‘discovered’. Players must be identified and grilled at 6, 8 or
10. The only way to keep track of them is to have a useful database and keep
following until they are national team material and keep coaching the national
philosophy, that is, how they are expected to play as national team players. The
national game gets a brand and identity style of play from that early age.
In this context, as all clubs around the world know,
there is an understanding of the general change of heart and lack of interest
by the youth as they pass through adolescence. Some decide against pursuing
football and prefer other sports, other stop sports altogether and specialise
in academics to be doctors, lawyers and the like. The associations and clubs
incur expenses for a lost cause in such cases, but weighing the pros and cons,
they are better expecting the best in each case.
All said and done, the data
information should ever be available to the public, parents and coaches for
case studies, for developmental use, for training relevant personnel, sourcing
of sponsorship and many other reasons. The future superstars get used to being
popular and abosb the pressure of playing in the big stage early. They tend to
be better hometown heroes and locals eagerly await their arrival and watch them
in stadia.
As it is, many top league teams in South Africa play
in empty stadia. Nobody ever knows the involved players, as they are not part
of the known community. DJs are more popular than players are. Yet the country
claims football is a religion.
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