2026 World Cup: Why Bafana Bafana Recent Success Is Not Solely on PSL Players
South Africa has secured automatic qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup ahead of Nigeria and the Benin Republic in Group C, with many attributing their success to the squad being dominated by Premier Soccer League players.
Bafana Bafana suffered a blow during the qualifiers as they were deducted three points by FIFA after being found guilty of fielding an ineligible player.
In most of the teams Hugo Broos used during the qualifiers, there are just a few who play their club football outside South Africa.
Why Bafana's success is not solely on PSL
A Nigerian journalist, Kingsley Akpan, in a chat with Briefly News, shared his thoughts on the trend that Bafana Bafana's success is solely dependent on the team being filled with PSL stars. He disagrees that the PSL should solely take the glory for the South African national team's recent success.
"Bafana Bafana's success in national team football, I don't think it would be wise enough for us to base it solely on their players being together in the same league, because that cannot be a sufficient reason," he said.
"It is a necessary reason that you have your players playing in the same league, especially maybe the same team, because we have most of the players in the South African national team playing for Mamelodi Sundowns. So, when you have three or four of these players playing for the same team, it's just a copy and paste thing. They do well at their club side, you just bring them to the national team, you know where they get to play, you know how they play, and it just makes it work that way."
Akpan went on to explain why he said South Africa's team having more PSL players in their squad is necessary and not a sufficient reason.
"Why it is a necessary reason and not a sufficient one is that at the CHAN tournament, where the majority of our team came from Remo Stars, the defending champions of the Nigerian Professional Football League, it didn't translate to success. Meaning that the coaching setup and how you prepare for tournaments, as well as all of the tactical approaches, also matter, and it makes your national team achieve the results and progress that are needed."
Source: Briefly News
