Bafana Bafana: NFD coach says league is overlooked by Ntseki
Richards Bay FC coach Simo Dladla believes that it is an error to overlook the talent on display in The GladAfrica Championship when it comes to Bafana Bafana call-ups.
The GladAfrica Championship or National First Division is the second tier of South African football and has been the launching pad for the careers of many top-flight and international footballers in the past.
Should GladAfrica Championship players get more Bafana Bafana opportunities?
Bafana Bafana squads are generally selected from the cream of the PSL alongside overseas-based stars.
Dladla questioned why players displaying their talent in the second tier are no longer considered for Bafana Bafana selection in a recent interview.
“I feel that there are players who are ready to play for Bafana Bafana in the GladAfrica Championship, I know I might be nobody to say this because I’ve never coached in the Premiership and not in a position to say a lot about this issue,” Dladla explains.
“But when I was playing for Maritzburg City back in the day, I remember one of my teammates then Edward Malinga was drafted in the national team and played for Bafana Bafana while in the second division, so I don’t see why they stopped that. It hasn’t been done in years while there (are many) players in certain positions who can come in and add value in the national team.”
Are they even tracking the NFD?
The GladAfrica Championship doesn’t enjoy close to the same coverage that the Premiership does, but the answer to Dlada’s question could be that the national team setup don’t follow the second division very closely.
The South Africa national under-23 football team certainly does draw on the second division with Richard’s Bay FC’s own Andile Mbanjwa receiving a call-up in 2019 and players from the likes of Ajax Cape Town (now Cape Town Spurs) and the University of Pretoria have popped up in David Notoane’s squads.
Head coach Molefi Ntseki is yet to call on a player from the National First Division for full international duty since taking charge of Bafana Bafana in 2019.
The most recent Bafana Bafana call-ups playing in the second tier were Siphiwe Tshabalala when he was at Free State stars, Siphelele Ntshangase from Black Leopards and Tsepo Masilela who played for Benoni Premier United when he got the call.
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