The Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos, has reprimanded the teams playing in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) for the habit of chasing the opportunity to make money with young players who show talent, forgetting to teach them how to behave on and off the field.
Broos is known for not keeping quiet when he is unhappy with something, as he did to Mbekezeli “TLB” Mbokazi in December and to Jaydon Adams of Mamelodi Sundowns last year.
Both of these players arrived late at Bafana’s gym. Adams was dismissed but Mbokazi was given a stern warning.
Since taking the job in 2021, this Belgian coach has stepped on many corners with his comments if there is something he doesn’t like from the managers of the players to the teams themselves.
Broos spoke about this practice at a press conference where he was making final preparations for the first friendly match against Panama on Friday at 7pm at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban.
While speaking to the media in Pretoria this week, Broos lamented the bad habit of PSL teams to prioritize making money, not bothering to raise young players in a moral way.
Among these teams, Broos came out with Orlando Pirates in the same way he did when Mbokazi was left behind by the plane, which led to his arrival at the camp much later than expected.
“This is a bad habit of teams to see young players as money and not young children who still need to be supervised in almost everything they do,” said Broos.
“The act of Pirates to protect Mbokazi when he was in the wrong left me disgusted because it was clear to me that they were killing him instead of killing him.
“I know I usually complain about the behavior of the players’ media managers when they see the money, but when Pirates called me to inform me that Mbokazi was left behind by the plane because he was coming from an area that is difficult to reach the airport from, I was tired of it.
“Mbokazi and other Bafana players have a bright future in football, but this does not mean that they are still the same.
“These types of players still need to be held by the hand in many ways. If their teams defend them, it is as if they are encouraging them to disrespect the law.
“Pirates is not the only one with this habit, but other PSL teams have shown me many times that the money they see they can make with a young player is the priority rather than teaching him the collective way of behavior of a paid football player.”