Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has once again stressed that South Africa’s domestic league alone cannot consistently produce players capable of competing at the highest international level, following the team’s return home on Wednesday.
South Africa bowed out of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in the Round of 16 after a narrow defeat to Cameroon. Although Bafana Bafana enjoyed long spells of possession, they struggled to break down a disciplined Cameroonian defence. The Indomitable Lions were ruthless, converting two of their four attempts on target, highlighting a cutting edge Broos believes his side currently lacks.
According to the Belgian coach, that sharpness is largely developed through regular exposure to elite competitions abroad. “There are teams at the Cup of Nations with players who play in Europe. We mostly don’t have them, and that is a disadvantage for South Africa,” Broos said.
“Cameroon is a brand-new team, and when you see where those players are playing, there’s a guy, the striker Christian Kofane, he’s playing for Bayer Leverkusen. He’s 19 years old.
“So this is the opportunity our players need to have because they have to be challenged more. I said from the beginning that the level of the PSL compared with the level we had in the last weeks is very different, and you can only close that gap when you have players who are also playing in tough competitions.
“So let’s hope that players in the future have more opportunities to go to Europe and play in those very difficult competitions and face those challenges, because that should help this team enormously.”
Broos added that occasional high-profile friendlies are not enough. “It’s not because you play once against Argentina or once against Ghana that suddenly your level will go up. No, this is something else. But yeah, what can we do? We just hope they get the opportunity and make the step,” he said.
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