Zimbabwe coach Marian Marinica is full of admiration for how Bafana Bafana have been modelled around locally based players — something he wants Zimbabwe to emulate.
The SA senior team has been spurred by locally based players mainly from Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates stars. During the 2023 AFCON held in Ivory Coast, Hugo Broos had ten Sundowns players and ended the tournament as bronze medalists.
In the ongoing 2025 AFCON, Broos trusted nine Orlando Pirates stars and five from Sundowns, underlining his faith in home-grown talent. They bowed out at the group stage of the ongoing football showcase, which completed its Round of 16 matches on Tuesday.
While they may have long returned to their respective club bases following elimination from the tourney, one thing still lingers in Zimbabwe’s coach, Marinica – how the PSL has made Hugo Broos’ job easy by producing reliable talent.
WHAT COACH MARIAN MARINICA SAID ABOUT BROOS’ TEAM
In one of his comments, after Zimbabwe’s group stage exit, Marinica praised the South African football system as the apt example of what is needed.
Interestingly, Zimbabwe has massive and quality talent, including players born in England who chose to play for their country of origin. However, they do not have the cohesion that Broos’ squad players has, considering that they play together in the same league.
Marinica said: “If you were to look at South Africa, they have players coming from the local leagues, which actually they are, regularly playing very high in the CAF Champions League and they are a very, very strong team. Can we also get this type of players in the local leagues?”
Meanwhile, Broos’ team now shift focus to the 2026 FIFA World Cup where they are in Group A alongside co-hosts Mexico and the Republic of Korea.
The remaining spot will be decided during the March 2026 playoffs. One of the following European nations: Denmark, North Macedonia, Ireland, or the Czech Republic will vie for the remaining spot.
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