Since the abolishment of the Apartheid regime, South Africa has grown to be one of the dominant forces in African football, winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996 then came close to retaining it, falling short at the semifinal stages in both 98 and 2000.

Since then, the South African football association has seemingly stagnated, with Mamelodi Sundowns being the only glimmering light for South Africa. Having won the CAF Champions league once in 2017, Mamelodi Sundowns has been a force to be reckoned with in Africa, boasting a well-drilled team capable of going against elite European teams.

In a span of 24 years, Bafana Bafana has only reached the final 4 of the AFCON once, and that was when they won their second ever bronze medal at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations edition. Even that achievement has to be attributed to Sundowns as that squad heavily consisted of Sundowns players.

Boasting a pretty up-to-standard league with top tier facilities and scouting teams good enough to attract and send talents abroad, one has to wonder why most South African players fail to hit their potential ceiling.

SuperSport United head coach Gavin Hunt sat with Thisisfootball Africa in a candid interview where he spoke about his time at Kaizer Chiefs, and his ups and downs with Phakamani Mahlambi among other issues.

The former Bidvest Wits head coach said that Phakamani Mahlambi is the biggest waste of talent that probably should be playing for Bafana Bafana right now.

“Biggest disgrace, biggest waste of talent, biggest disgrace, obviously we had him in our Diski team, with Glen Salmon, he was the coach,” Hunt told This Is Football Africa.

“He played wide for Glen and I told Glen I think he’s a striker, a number nine, a running number nine, he can work a channel, he is so quick.

“I took him in the first team, played him up front – first game away to Platinum Stars as a nine, he scored a hattrick, I said there you go. Then we played Al Ahly in the Champions League, 70,000 people.

“Remember [Wael] Gomaa, the bald head? He ran him ragged, he had to pay to come back in the ground, he ran behind him, over him – and they ended up signing him. Great move, his salary went from I don’t know, like R20,000 to I don’t know R500,000 a month.

I was at a restaurant a couple of years ago, he was at Al Ahly, he left us, they were having a good time, six mates, they always have mates because they have money – anyway, I call the waiter over, I asked what’s the bill over there, he said R45,000,” Hunt explained.

“The bill, R45,000 so far – they were drinking Hennesseys, and he’s 21 years old. It was R45,000. I told him if you serve another drink there, I will personally [beat you up]. You cancel the bill and get them out.

“He obviously paid and then went somewhere else. But that’s what I’m trying to tell you – where is your mentality, I tried to speak to the boy but ya…”

According to Lorenz Köhler, an esteemed South African journalist, “SA players either drink, smoke weed, (and get) distracted by slay queens.  They are weak mentally. That’s the problem.”

“Mathoho, Zuma, Shabba, are prime examples. Once they join KC their wages make it difficult for them to enter the leagues outside Europe’s top five. They prefer to stay home and be big fishes in small ponds.”

Even former Panathinaikos and Racing Santander centre-back Morris came forward back in 2023 and accused the current crop of South African players of being too comfortable playing at home, unlike in previous years when he was playing.

Morris thinks this is down to the fear of testing themselves abroad with many afraid of even starting in lower leagues, contributing to the low number of players from the country currently playing in Europe’s major leagues.

Anyhow, given the aforementioned information, it’s safe to say that South African footballers lack ambition. Does that have to do with them having all these top tier facilities, and the luxuries that come with being a footballer in their backyard? I can neither confirm or dispute that, but nonetheless, the drop-off in quality players being exported abroad is evident and should tell us something.