Right down the line: A few lessons from the World Cup for Africa
Of course, we do have players that are in big leagues, but they need to come back and contribute to the development of football.
This cup made me think that there is a lot that still needs to be done in football development in Africa. The fact that none of the African teams even made it to the quarter-finals says a lot about development.
We must remember that it is not about winning the World Cup or the African Cup of Nations, but to compete with countries outside Africa and earn our place among the best. For instance, the last time Croatia made it to the semi-finals was back in 1998 against Germany, this year they are competing with the best and this is the result of commitment and investment towards their development. I hope that coaches, managers and other stakeholders took some notes to make an introspection and grow. In Mzansi, Percy Tau may be leaving South Africa for the English Premier League team, Brighton.
The deal is being finalised. At least, Tau’s agent apologised to Patrice Motsepe for leaking his departure to the media. Nonetheless, I wish him all the best and hope that he will not be benched and also to impress them just like he did at home. I still yearn for a South African player to be one of the best players in Europe. Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, among other countries, boasted with Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Samuel Eto’o, Asamoah Gyan and Yaya Toure. Those are some of the good players that come from Africa and earned their stripes on the international level. The last time we had a good player was when Lucas Radebe played for Leeds United in England. Benni McCarthy played for FC Porto, West Ham and Blackburn Rovers, while Steven Pienaar was at Everton. It is only a selected few and those are the very same players that need to reinvest in South African football which takes me back to the fact I pointed out above.
