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Talent slipping through net

THERE needs to be more communication between development coaches and head coaches if South African football is to prosper.

THERE needs to be more communication between development coaches and head coaches if South African football is to prosper.

That was the message from former Kaizer Chiefs skipper Johannes "Ryder" Mofokeng at the launch of the second edition of the Gauteng Future Champions international Under-17 tournament at Dobsonville Stadium yesterday.

Mofokeng, who captained Chiefs from 1975 to 1986, said many talented players got lost along the way because of a lack of communication between head coaches and men tasked with developing future stars for their teams.

"We have produced a number of extremely talented players at Chiefs over the years but for one reason or another they seem to get lost on the way or end up at other teams," he said.

"Players like Kagiso Senamela, Bongani Theletsane, Sibusiso Mahlangu and Siyanda Xulu are some of the players who were part of our development structures and we somehow let them get away."

The Amakhosi development coach said today's players were fortunate to have such tournaments to help fine- tune their talent.

"They are fortunate to have these tournaments because they learn about football from other countries and they also learn about different cultures."

The tournament that will be played from January 25 to 30 at Dobsonville Stadium features the likes of Kaizer Chiefs, SuperSport United, Paris Saint-Germain (France), DC United (US), Mumbai Challengers (India), Team Dublin (Ireland), Botafogo (Brazil) and Shandong Luneng (China).

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