After the SA U23s and U20s' failure to qualify for their respective tournaments, ex-player Matthew Booth believes that as long as junior national sides fail to prepare properly they won't make any progress.
The U-23 failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), which would have given them a shot at making the 2024 Olympic Games, after their goalless draw with the Republic of Congo in Brazzaville on Monday, while the U20 could not qualify for this year's Afcon in Egypt, a tournament that paves way to the Fifa U20 World Cup.
Booth, who played at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 with the SA U23s, said Safa should start giving the junior teams enough time to prepare by organising friendly matches.
"If you remember, we had a six-year plan and that started in 1996/97 with the ultimate aim of qualifying for the Sydney Olympics," Booth told Sowetan yesterday.
"And [sponsors] Sasol drove the programme and made sure that then coach Ephraim 'Shakes' Mashaba was the same coach for six years. We achieved a little bit of success, we created some history and everybody remembers that squad.
"Now, can you remember if this squad has the same vision or resources put into them since then? No.
"So, you can't expect our U23 or U20 to have the same sort of success as we did. Undoubtedly, we have the talent, but they are not given a chance to maximise their talent."
Booth, however, doubts if the current Safa leadership is keen to make those changes and feels if they continue with the way things are going, then nothing will come right.
"I wish that the U17, U20 and U23 boys and girls will be given more resources and more time to prepare because, unfortunately, they don't have," he said.
"[But] with the same leadership in charge, I'm not sure if anything is going to change. Unfortunately, we don't have passionate fans that support the national teams.
"More and more of our fans are drifting into English Premiership and making funny comments on social media whereas if this [failure] was happening in Nigeria or Morocco, the fans would have a different reaction.
"Hopefully, that changes the attitude of our leadership and our fans. Otherwise, the status quo will remain, unfortunately.
"If you buy cheap goods, they're not going to last very long. You get what you pay for. The resources that you put into something are going to be the results."
Poor prep, fans' apathy to blame for junior teams' failure – Booth
Ex-defender says Safa should invest in younger players
Image: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
After the SA U23s and U20s' failure to qualify for their respective tournaments, ex-player Matthew Booth believes that as long as junior national sides fail to prepare properly they won't make any progress.
The U-23 failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), which would have given them a shot at making the 2024 Olympic Games, after their goalless draw with the Republic of Congo in Brazzaville on Monday, while the U20 could not qualify for this year's Afcon in Egypt, a tournament that paves way to the Fifa U20 World Cup.
Booth, who played at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 with the SA U23s, said Safa should start giving the junior teams enough time to prepare by organising friendly matches.
"If you remember, we had a six-year plan and that started in 1996/97 with the ultimate aim of qualifying for the Sydney Olympics," Booth told Sowetan yesterday.
"And [sponsors] Sasol drove the programme and made sure that then coach Ephraim 'Shakes' Mashaba was the same coach for six years. We achieved a little bit of success, we created some history and everybody remembers that squad.
"Now, can you remember if this squad has the same vision or resources put into them since then? No.
"So, you can't expect our U23 or U20 to have the same sort of success as we did. Undoubtedly, we have the talent, but they are not given a chance to maximise their talent."
Booth, however, doubts if the current Safa leadership is keen to make those changes and feels if they continue with the way things are going, then nothing will come right.
"I wish that the U17, U20 and U23 boys and girls will be given more resources and more time to prepare because, unfortunately, they don't have," he said.
"[But] with the same leadership in charge, I'm not sure if anything is going to change. Unfortunately, we don't have passionate fans that support the national teams.
"More and more of our fans are drifting into English Premiership and making funny comments on social media whereas if this [failure] was happening in Nigeria or Morocco, the fans would have a different reaction.
"Hopefully, that changes the attitude of our leadership and our fans. Otherwise, the status quo will remain, unfortunately.
"If you buy cheap goods, they're not going to last very long. You get what you pay for. The resources that you put into something are going to be the results."
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