Three-time CAF Champions League-winning coach Pitso Mosimane has expressed immense satisfaction with the progress of his Pitso Mosimane Youth Football project, as top clubs are recruiting its coaches and players.
PMYF recently lost one of its coaches, Mahlatse Mabusela, to Sekhukhune United, while a young player, Kabelo Skhosana, joined Mamelodi Sundowns.
Mosimane views the recent recruitments not as losses but as gains for the project, which is now two and a half years old.
“Yes, we want PSL to come and get more coaches from Pitso Mosimane Youth Football. We don’t see it as a loss, we see it as a growth,” Mosimane told FARPost. “It means now PSL is stepping into a program that is two and a half years old, right? So, it means we have done exceptionally well.”
MOSIMANE: ‘IT MEANS WE’VE DONE EXCEPTIONALLY WELL’
Mosimane, who guided Sundowns to the CAF Champions League title in 2016, confirmed Masandawana had snapped up one of their Under-13 talents in Mamelodi, Skhosana.
“We’ve already lost one of our top talents to Mamelodi Sundowns, and they’re putting him in the academy, and that’s good for us because he’s just playing in our youth team, so they’re giving him life beyond it,” he explained.
The former Bafana Bafana mentor emphasised the life-changing impact of such opportunities for the young players, many of whom come from underprivileged backgrounds.
“They come from poor backgrounds, you know, humble backgrounds. So now he’s going to stay in the academy. He’s going to get his meals, and he’s also got good coaches. But then, for us, we have done very well for now; these big teams are now coming to us.”
Mosimane’s project now has 95 coaches, serving over 12000 boys and girls in 18 Curro partner schools across five provinces. “For us at PMYF, it’s that growth. That’s how you measure growth, right from moving from 23 coaches to 95 coaches, to having players being recruited, having PSL clubs, and recruiting our coaches.
“It means we’re doing the right thing, but we know we’re doing the right thing because our program is not an emotional program of gathering children, and they run around. It’s age-appropriate. It’s gender-based and well-researched. It’s what the world is doing,” Mosimane added.
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