Jomo Sono: What Hugo Broos must do to shape Bafana’s future
South African football great Ephraim “Jomo” Sono has advised Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos on what he must do to build the future of the national team.
Broos was appointed Bafana coach in 2021 with a mandate to qualify for the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
His failure to make it to the World Cup left the country divided on whether he should continue as Bafana’s mentor.
Broos has, at times, mentioned the lack of proper development of players in the country as one of the issues that set SA football back.
Now, Sono, who was the technical advisor of South Africa when they won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), says Broos should be hands-on in the junior national teams.
The Jomo Cosmos owner stated that the former Cameroon coach must ensure that the SA junior teams coaches aren’t “aligned” to any clubs.
WHAT BROOS MUST DO TO BUILD BAFANA’S FUTURE
“Broos must monitor the juniors if there is no favouritism when it comes to the team selections,” Sono told FARPost.
“He must make sure that there are no 10 or 15 players selected from one team.
“He must monitor the juniors himself; he has to be involved because he is going to need those players at some point.
“Bafana are not the future but the juniors are.
“And in all the junior teams, he needs to have the right people [coaches] who are not aligned to any club.
“Therefore, the future of the country will be in good hands.”
The former Orlando Pirates star added that the country mustn’t demand overnight success from the Belgian tactician.
JOMO SONO – GIVE HUGO BROOS A CHANCE
“We need to give Broos a chance,” added Sono, who is also a former Bafana coach.
“Our problem is, we want instant success and we’ve got the entitlement.
“We just believe that we have to qualify and we have to win at all times and I don’t know why.
“I can’t say he is good; I don’t know him, but I like that he believes in young players. He knows what he is doing.”
Since his appointment, Broos has overseen 14 matches, winning eight, drawing three and losing three.
Ahead of him lies a colossal task to collect six points from two games against Liberia in the AFCON qualifiers which will take place in March next year.
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