On June 22, 2015, W.S. Msiza wrote on this website an opinion piece headlined ‘Clubs hurting Bafana’.
As much as I understand where that statement came from and possibly the eagerness to praise Orlando Pirates and ridicule Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns in the process, one cannot help but bring out a certain point that has been ignored by W.S. Msiza.
When we hosted the CHAN tournament, a similar issue arose where clubs found it difficult to let their players stay in the national team when they needed to get them ready for the resumption of the League programme.
Yes, PSL clubs are in recess, but for how long? It is a mere five weeks before the start of the new campaign. How are coaches supposed to work with their clubs when key members of the squads are not available?
It would also be foolish to put the blame on the national team coach in this case as the situation is beyond his control. Having said that, I wish to call on SAFA and the PSL to review the League’s calendar as it is running in the opposite direction to the rest of Africa.
I remember the days of the Vodacom Challenge where clubs from the rest of Africa would come and play. It was an off-season tournament, in the middle of their respective league campaigns. They were always fitter and more organised because they were already playing league football while Pirates and Chiefs were in pre-season mood.
Whenever our clubs participate in the continental competitions there have to be adjustments made on fixtures, especially when they progress through the competition. Orlando Pirates are enjoying a good run in the CAF Confederation Cup since our League season ended. They are now fully focused on the competition, but surely they are concerned about the fact that all the other clubs have had an off-season break and their players have not.
I wish to then call on W.S. Msiza to also take heed of the issue I have raised pertaining to the PSL calendar and that of CAF as it is the root cause of the challenges we are facing every year. Ask yourself this question: how can an important, official fixture be played outside the FIFA week? If CAF will not change its schedule to align itself to the rest of the world, then South Africa must go back to aligning itself with the CAF calendar.
We all want Bafana Bafana to do well, but in order to achieve that, we all need to work together. Unlike other sports codes, football players have no contracts with SAFA and therefore are not accountable to SAFA but their respective clubs. It does not matter how much you (as a player) want to feature for the national team, you need to attend to the hand that feeds you first, which is the football club.
Also, I know that reverting to the CAF calendar will not necessarily put an end to the club vs country debacle, but we will surely have less of these issues to debate.
In conclusion, it is unfortunate that clubs have to withdraw their personnel from the national team, but it is also an inconvenience that SAFA know they have to accept until we go back to aligning our football activities with CAF.
By Mbulelo Kwali
