Bongokuhle Hlongwane Bongokuhle Hlongwane of Minnesota United reacts after a goal is disallowed during their Major Soccer League game against Philadelphia Union. Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP
Image: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP
The United States may be the land of opportunity, but for South African footballers, its soccer leagues are where talent goes to stagnate. Once-promising careers fizzle out, national team dreams fade, and the path to Europe grows colder with each passing season.
The marketing shtick of America’s Major League Soccer (MLS) will point to the transfer that saw David Beckham’s Inter Miami sign global football icon Lionel Messi as one of the reasons why the league is growing.
Sure, they might have a point. Others would point to a fact that the MLS is a lucrative retirement village where big names chase the American dream for one last paycheck.
For South African footballers, though, the MLS is a career dead-end. There are currently eight South Africans attached to MLS clubs. They are mainly still entering the prime of their careers, but continue to be overlooked by Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos.
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Njabulo Blom, currently on loan at Kaizer Chiefs from St Louis City SC, looked like a star in the making when he first arrived in America. Beautifully edited posts on social media made it look like he was singlehandedly dominating games, and bigger clubs in Europe would soon come calling.
However, once his coach, former Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana star Bradley Carnell was sacked, game time was hard to come by for the midfield dynamo. His struggle for regular first team minutes saw him pack his bags and return home.
Cassius Mailula’s journey in the MLS has been equally frustrating. After looking like one of the best young talents to come out of Mamelodi Sundowns since Percy Tau, Mailula completed a move to Toronto FC, where he found himself way down the pecking order and hardly played.
He’s since moved to Rulani Mokwena’s Wydad Casablanca and has done so well that his name could make a return to Broos’ national team.
Bongokuhle Hlongwane has become a star player at Minnesota United and is making good money, but his impressive performances against the league’s mediocre defenders has not convinced Broos that he belongs in the Bafana Bafana set up.
For Blom and Mailula, the move to America has shown that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Blom is starting to find his feet again in the PSL, while Mailula is thriving in Morocco. For Hlongwane, he makes $11,635 (R214,500) a week. So, it’s understandable why he would rather choose the bright lights of the United States than to fight for a place in Broos’ ever-improving Bafana Bafana.
The choice is clear: chase true career growth elsewhere or settle for the comfort of a pay cheque in a league that does little to elevate their international standing.
Blom and Mailula learned this the hard way, forced to find new homes where their talent could flourish. Hlongwane may enjoy financial security in the US, but as long as he remains in the MLS, he risks becoming just another forgotten talent. Football careers are short — where a player chooses to spend their prime years can mean the difference between a legacy and a pay cheque.
IOL Sport
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