South African football has had a host of talented white players over the years in the national squad
Pitso Mosimane is concerned about the lack of white players in the Premier Soccer League and the national team
SuperSport United's Jesse Donn is among a handful of white players still playing in the Premier Soccer League

South Africa’s most successful coach, Pitso Mosimane, is not afraid to share his thoughts.

The Al Ahly manager’s latest comments are sure to raise questions as Jingles asked why there was a lack of white players in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and the Bafana squad.

Pitso Mosimane, Questions, White Players, No Longer Play, Premier Soccer League, Bafana Bafana, Neil Tovey, Matthew Booth, Bradley Carnell, Mark Fish, Dean Furman, South Africa, Sport — South Africa has had talented white players like Neil Tovey and Dean Furman and Pitso Mosimane is wondering why more white players don't play anymore. Image: Ayman Aref/ Michael Steele/ Anesh Debiky
Source: Getty Images

Bafana has had talented white players over the years, including the likes of Neil Tovey, Mark Fish, Eric Tinkler, Bradley Carnell and Dean Furman to name a few. Tovey even captained the side to AFCON glory.

Over the years, fewer white players can be found in the local league, with Jessie Donn, Mark van Heerden and Bradley Grobler representing a handful of white footballers in the PSL.

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The decline has worried coach Pitso who recently commented on the lack of white talent, Times LIVE reported.

“In the schools the white boys are playing football. Why are white boys not playing football in the PSL? There’s so many white boys playing football. My son is 13 and he’s playing against talented white players. I asked myself, why we do not have them in the senior teams?”

SuperSport United player, Jesse Donn, recently commented on the situation as well.

As reported by IOL, Donn said it wasn’t a case of white players not being talented enough, but more than white players opted to rather pursue rugby or cricket as a sporting alternative.

Donn added that white players needed to get over the mental block.

Donn has played over 20 games for SuperSport United this season and even earned himself a call up to the national squad.

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Bafana Bafana: Iconic Class of ’96 Set to Celebrate 25th AFCON Glory Anniversary in 2022

In February 2022, Bafana Bafana marked their 25th anniversary since winning the 1996 CAF African Cup of Nations trophy on home soil.

The national team was coached by Clive Barker and defeated Tunisia 2-0 at a packed-to-the-rafters FNB Stadium to lift the team's biggest achievement to date. Speaking to the media, the Class of ’96 skipper Neil Tovey explained the details of the celebrations.

"Although some of the key figures of that team are no longer with us, we can mention big names such as John ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu, Sizwe Motaung and Philemon ‘Chippa’ Masinga and the celebration was still a memorable event," he said.

Former Bafana defender Bradley Carnell lands new coaching role, takes over St Louis FC

Former Bafana star Bradley Carnell is making big waves as he makes his way to Major League Soccer (MLS) to coach the new club, St Louis FC.

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Carnell is no stranger to coaching roles and the MLS having served as the New York Red Bulls assistant coach for the past five seasons. He also served as interim coach for the Red Bulls towards the end of the last season, helping lead them to the play-offs.

On hiring Carnell St Louis FC's sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said that they wanted to hire someone who understood the ins and outs of the MLS, Sports24 reported.

Authors

Byron Pillay

Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.