Young players need guidance 

I don’t think the people mandated with taking care and nurturing our young talent are doing enough to make sure that these youngsters grow to live up to expectations.

You know, I said devastated, but actually, I’m beyond that, I’m angry.

We are always talking about development and promoting players at a young age so that we should have a huge pool of young players competing at a high level and for national team selectors to have plenty of options when it comes to picking a squad.

But what I saw this week really bothered me.

I met Augustine Mahlonoko, the boy who was 16 years old when Orlando Pirates promoted him to the first team. He is now 18 years old and nowhere to be found in the Pirates senior team or the National Under-20 competing at the on-going Cosafa Cup in Zambia. Or better yet, he wasn’t part of the Under-23 squad that competed at the recent Afcon in Egypt. Trust me, with his talent, he could have easily made that team, no matter his age.

It’s crushing when you know and have seen a player’s abilities, but there is no progress in their career.

And trust me, Mahlonoko is not the only player to be going through this. There are plenty of young players out there who end up in the wilderness because they didn’t get the right guidance and mentoring to make it into top-flight football.

My plea for development coaches is to really take care of our players, not only in terms of their football, but also their way of life.

They end up getting into stuff that ends up destroying their careers and at the end, the nation and the world get deprived of witnessing what could possibly be the best player in the globe.

Another player I would like to make an example of is Emmanuel Letlotlo.

Many have seen what Letlotlo is capable of during his stint with the Kaizer Chiefs reserve team in the MultiChoice Diski Challenge. And in my opinion, I believe Letlotlo should be competing for a place in the Bafana striking force. The boy can score goals and he proved it. But, because of not having the right people in his circle and mentors, he is yet to live up to expectations.

And if I go back, Michael Nkambule comes to mind. The former Chiefs midfielder had everything going his way, but where did he end up? This is a player who began his professional career in France with Strasbourg FC reserves. And yes, there are many like him, but come on, let’s fix this.

Let’s really take care of our youngsters before they fall out of the radar. Their football and lifestyle have to be thoroughly monitored in order for them to be the best they can be, otherwise, we will lose them.

To read more about Mahlonoko’s story, get yourself a copy of Phakaaathi on Tuesday, December 10.

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