Shield yesterday brought together a group of SA minds in football to discuss and share ideas around how we can improve on the state of football in the country.
Shield head coach Dumisani Thusi made the point that the country was not short of talent and everyone agreed.
"We have got plenty of talent in SA," Thusi said. But, he said, we needed to focus on developing coaches in order to [improve] the sport as a whole.
"The problem is that our players are not getting the right guidance at an early age. So, they even get to U18 teams while they still have to be taught the basics," Thusi said.
Former Kaizer Chiefs star Stanton Fredericks also echoed the same sentiment.
"In order to create a lasting positive impact, funding needs to be channelled in the correct way and the SA football governing body is making notable strides in moving us towards centralised development, where we can maintain steady growth until we reach a sustainable point.
"Since 2018, we've seen real investment in grassroots development, with the introduction of youth leagues for Under 13s and Under 15s in most of the SA football associations across Safa's 52 regions such as the sports minister's announcement recently of a R5m investment in Safa's National Women's Soccer League," said Fredericks.
Shield sprays seeds of growth
Shield yesterday brought together a group of SA minds in football to discuss and share ideas around how we can improve on the state of football in the country.
Shield head coach Dumisani Thusi made the point that the country was not short of talent and everyone agreed.
"We have got plenty of talent in SA," Thusi said. But, he said, we needed to focus on developing coaches in order to [improve] the sport as a whole.
"The problem is that our players are not getting the right guidance at an early age. So, they even get to U18 teams while they still have to be taught the basics," Thusi said.
Former Kaizer Chiefs star Stanton Fredericks also echoed the same sentiment.
"In order to create a lasting positive impact, funding needs to be channelled in the correct way and the SA football governing body is making notable strides in moving us towards centralised development, where we can maintain steady growth until we reach a sustainable point.
"Since 2018, we've seen real investment in grassroots development, with the introduction of youth leagues for Under 13s and Under 15s in most of the SA football associations across Safa's 52 regions such as the sports minister's announcement recently of a R5m investment in Safa's National Women's Soccer League," said Fredericks.