The news of yet another South African starlet Kgaogelo Chauke (17) signing a professional contract with a top European club and one of the best clubs for youth talent in Europe, Southampton, has once again shone a spotlight on South Africa’s top football clubs and their attitude towards local talent development. This has happened with a frightening regularity over the last couple of years that more and more of our teens are finding it easier to break into top teams European teams than local teams.
I reflected back on June-July last year when despite having had one of Africa’s best under 20 crop of players in Africa we went into AFCON 2019 with the joint oldest squad at 29 years, nearly 2 years older than the tournament average of 27 years old. The squad did not have a single under 20 player though our highly rated players had returned from a credible FIFA Under 20 world championship in Poland, having lost to the eventual runners up Korea Republic.
In the immediate aftermath of this campaign our analysis showed that even our professional league does not only have the highest % of foreigners compared to other top leagues in Africa. At twenty an average percent (20%) for the league rising to 30% for the worst performers, South Africa’s top clubs simply aren’t giving our youngsters a look in. This is made even worse by the fact that we also have the second oldest average league squad in Africa with only Nigeria at 29 years having the oldest average league squad of the leagues we analysed. By comparison Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria all with average squad league age of just 26 according to Transfermarkt.
The review of the squad roosters of the individual PSL premier division clubs spells a doomsday scenario for aspiring young South African footballers. Of the 16 teams only 8 teams have a teenager in their rooster with two of the 8 with more than one teenager in their squad.
When one considers those that regularly make match day squad and play regularly this pictures is even more distressing for young player.
We went on and compared our league with other African and European league for 2019/20 seasons on average squad age, youngest squads, and oldest squad size. Remarkably, we have the biggest squads yet countries with much smaller squads still have room for teenagers. France’s Ligue 1 and Germany’s Bundesliga have the youngest overall squads amongst the top 5 leagues and the youngest squad is not even 24 years. Think about that, the whole squad average. Contrast that to our massive squads relatively speaking with average of 6 foreigners and hardly any teenagers and on average youngest players are 22 years old.
All evidence points to the fact that modern teams build squads that are smaller and younger. South Africa and perhaps the greater Sub-Saharan Africa may be loosing ground as two of its biggest and most high profile leagues have older squads and the case of SA much bigger squad as well. This seems to explain why so many of the brighter more talented youngsters are increasingly looking to Europe to make a mark rather than their own leagues. It seems its not that the standard is so high here compared to Europe they can break in. It’s the opportunity they, the continent of their birth does not give them opportunity. They are justified and the balance of probability also better off by doing so.
