South Africa’s U17 Bantwana coach Nthabeleng Modiko. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
It seems like South Africa’s U17 Bantwana coach Nthabeleng Modiko hasn’t learned anything from her U20 Basetsana colleague.
A Gauteng-dominated Basetsana U20 team had a disastrous World Cup qualifiers, falling to Burundi. Modiko called up three goalkeepers from the Safa Academy in her preliminary squad of 35.
That guarantees two of these keepers a place in the squad as there is only one other goalkeeper, who is also from a Gauteng club. There was a late call-up for Dangerous Heroes’ Anathi Nqothani, whose name reached the Safa national selectors after winning the Safa Cape Town Junior Player of the Year and Stanturf Player of the Tournament last year, bringing the number of players to report for camp to 36.
I was surprised because the coach was in charge of UJ at the Engen Knockout and saw first-hand the talent on display.
She faced some of the best in the country, and that came from Cape Town Roses, who campaigned with a team made up of primary school kids. That’s why I was surprised to see only Lulamela Vena’s name on the list of 35.
It’s a shame because it’s not all the coach’s fault because she can easily justify her decision as “using players that I know”, or say she’s not employed full-time in the position.
Maybe it’s even a budget issue, Safa can’t afford to fly the kids up, which is more expensive than bussing them from Bloem, KZN and Limpopo. If you look closely, you might find that the bus company is registered to somebody curious.
There’s nothing wrong with giving a through-pass to an associate or relative, it’s when it’s done to the detriment of the game where it gets shifty for me.
These are the levels of greed thriving in grassroots football.
Zoe October from Cape Town Spurs Women, and Lulamela Vena from Cape Town Roses are the only two players from the Mother City.
A total of 10 players are from the Safa Academy, and a further 11 from various clubs in Gauteng. The balance is from KZN, Free State and Limpopo.
I don’t want them to lose, despite not agreeing on the squad makeup.
The longer our journey in the qualifiers for a place in the Dominican Republic in 2024, the better the coach can build a squad to represent the nation from October 16 to November 3.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za
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