Bafana Bafana legend Doctor Khumalo believes former players have a part to play in local football and should be involved. The 1996 Africa Cup of Nations winner said national team coach Hugo Broos overlooked the best players that could make a massive difference for the squad.
Khumalo was speaking during what was meant to be Ria Ledwaba’s presidential manifesto launch in Johannesburg on Tuesday. He singled out the crucial World Cup qualifier against Ghana last year as evidence of that, adding that having Mamelodi Sundowns midfield grafter Andile Jali would have worked better than TS Galaxy’s Ethan Brooks.
Since taking the Bafana hot seat last year, the Belgian mentor has brought new faces to the national team, claiming that he is building a solid team. However, he failed to qualify for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. “How do you go and play a serious match and sacrifice South Africans, not the national team, and you leave out players that I strongly believe would have made a difference,” Khumalo said.
“There’s no way Ethan Brooks could play away against Ghana and give us results when Andile Jali is out there, an experienced player. But with the help of legends and masters, it would have been different. It would have made a difference.” The former Kaizer Chiefs talisman further questioned why former Bafana captain Lucas Radebe was being denied a chance to lead at Safa.
“Do you guys know when we went to the DRC, we had to live for five days with Coke and bread only because we couldn’t eat their food? Is that not sacrifice? “So, why can’t we be part of the structures? Why can’t the likes of Shakes [Mashaba] be part of the structure? How do we expect football to be better in South Africa if people who walked the path can’t be part of it?”
