First let me take you back in time before we even talk about the present or the future. It’s August 2014. The
national Under-20 team have just reached the third round of qualifiers for the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
To book a ticket to Senegal, Amajita have to overcome a strong Cameroon side with a number of Europe-based players. One of them is goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa, then plying his trade in the Barcelona reserve side.
Amajita draw the first leg 1-1 in Yaounde. In the second leg, in Polokwane, they concede early but Fagrie Lakay’s brace does the job and Amajita beat Cameroon 2-1 to qualify for the youth tournament for the first time since 2009.
They get knocked out in the group stage in Senegal after winning just one match - a dead rubber against Zambia, who had also already been eliminated.
Not a single player from that Amajita side makes the cut to Bafana Bafana for the 2015 senior Afcon, while Ondoa went with the Indomitable Lions to Equatorial Guinea. Ondoa, who is now with Sevilla’s reserves on loan, will be playing in the 2017 final against Egypt tomorrow. This is the present.
The 21-year-old has been brilliant in goal for Cameroon, helping them reach the final for the first time since 2002. His heroics and that of the Indomitable Lions have touched me. Amajita could be forced to draw inspiration from them in the Under-20 Afcon in Zambia later this month.
Some clubs have refused to release players for the side, arguing they need them for the RESERVE LEAGUE. I had to put that in caps because of how ludicrous it is that clubs would refuse to release players for a tournament that would give them international exposure and an opportunity to grow their game, just so they can play in the reserve league.
There is far more to this refusal than clubs wanting to ensure their reserve sides are competitive in the prestigious MultiChoice Diski Challenge that exposes them to international football and a different environment, playing with their peers from across the continent. Oh, wait. It’s the Afcon that does that.
This isn’t a new thing. The national Under-23 team regularly had this problem for the Olympics qualifiers. But clubs then were refusing to release first-team regulars, not reserve players. That’s why the PSL decided to close the league so that Owen da Gama could have his best players. The result is that South Africa finally had a men’s team in the Olympics last year for the first time since Sydney in 2000.
It’s not realistic for the league to shut down for the Under-20s. People just need to put the country first instead of what’s currently happening. Imagine how much Sibongakonke Mbatha and Mondli Mpoto would grow by playing in two World Cups and possibly the Olympics before graduating to Bafana Bafana. We would have young players who have been exposed to a higher level of football that would see them mature early.
Ajax Cape Town realised this when the national Under-17 team qualified for the World Cup in Chile. After they had refused to release their players for the qualifiers, they had a change of heart and said they were available for the World Cup. Molefi Ntseki did the right thing by excluding them and taking the players who had taken the country to Chile. The national team can’t be held to ransom by anyone.
I don’t know if it’s funny or sad that two of the clubs who refused to release players for the Under-20 Afcon, Bidvest Wits and SuperSport United, are coached by Gavin Hunt and Stuart Baxter - two men who have been linked with the Bafana Bafana job. Hopefully sanity prevails and Thabo Senong gets all the players he wants for this tournament.
After the disappointment of Bafana failing to qualify for the Afcon in Gabon, it would be a welcome change to see Amajita go to the World Cup in South Korea.
For that to happen, the team must get the players they need. But if it doesn’t happen, they must draw inspiration from Cameroon who were snubbed by eight players including Liverpool’s Joel Matip and Eric Choupo-Moting of Schalke. The Indomitable Lions roared to the final without them. I am certain the players who have been refused to join Amajita would love to go with their friends to Zambia unlike those Cameroonian prima donnas. Our clubs must do the right thing.
Petty squabbles should take a back-seat and let's put the national team first.