Through the years South African football has produced some of the world’s finest players including Lucas Radebe, Quinton Fortune, Mark Fish and Steven Pienaar, but does the nation need to make the next step forward to reach its potential.
Graham Robinson, Head of International Football Development at Barclays Premier League club, Sunderland AFC, believes the nation needs to start taking advantage of its privileged position.
“If I’m very honest, African football is very positive, my feelings are that South African football has to take advantage of its privileged position compared to other African countries, as they have got a lot of investment and strong infrastructure” said Graham.
“It now needs to be shown on the international stage, in the last CAF Cup they produced a lot of young talented players and now it’s about those players in their respective leagues and clubs been given the right grounding and tools to develop as players.”
The well-travelled coach, who started his player career in his native South Africa before later moving to the UK, has been working closely with SAFC’s South African football club partner, Bidvest Wits, and believes they are making great strides as part of their youth development programme.
“We work closely with Bidvest Wits for the benefit of both clubs and often share ideas. I visit the club four times a year to assist in their ongoing youth development programme and we are starting to see an improvement in the players, which is credit to the staff at Wits.
“The big thing for the club is that they are starting to identify players at a younger age and they are much more organised in their structure. This season six players from their academy have moved up the academy roots to the first team squad which shows you that the system is working.”
As part of Graham’s role at Sunderland AFC, the coach regularly works with the Barclays Premier League and The British Council, on their Premier Skills initiative, which focusses on developing community coaches and referees in chosen territories, to further support local community projects.
“I think it’s very important that the coach’s structure continues to grow and develop, they need to start engaging players at a younger age group so they can get the fundamentals right from the start at any coaching level.
“As raw talent and ability can’t get you everywhere, you need to have some structure and support along the way and through the Premier Skills initiative we are starting to see progress on the ground in the local communities.
“The initiative offers the community coaches the skills to engage with players at a much earlier age, teaching them the basics of phases of play and having that role in a team, so that when they do get picked up by an academy in their teenage years they have a better understanding of the game.
“There is an opportunity for South Africa, it’s just harnessing it, and making sure those players coming through the ranks are supported at the start so it’s not just a waste of time.”
Issued by Sunderland Association Football Club
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