The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda Sports Reporter
The money-spinning South African Premier Soccer League, traditionally a safe and lucrative destination for hundreds of Zimbabwean players seeking greener pastures, has recorded a worrying turnover of local players in recent times, with former Bloemfontein Celtic striker Roderick Mutuma becoming the latest player to find the going tough down south.
Oscar Machapa, Tafadzwa Rusike, Ramson Zhuwawo, Lionel Mtizwa and Mkhokeli Dube are some of the players who have returned home recently and could soon be joined by former Dynamos talisman and 2012 Soccer Star of the Year Denver Mukamba whose life at Bidvest Wits is not that rosy.
Since its inception in 1996, the South African PSL has perennially been a safe haven for Zimbabwean players whose record down south has been imperious right from the heyday of Gilbert Mushangazhike, Wilfred Mugeyi, Kaitano Tembo, Tinashe Nengomasha and Benjani Mwaruwari up to the present-day stars Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat.
Being the strongest football-playing neighbour to South Africa, Zimbabwe has traditionally provided the bulk of foreign players to the South African league, while other neighbours contributed a small contingent.
That hegemony has, however, come under a growing threat instigated by the influx of continental players into the Super Diski.
As of December 2011, there were 62 foreign players in South Africa, with Zimbabwe providing 21 (30 percent) but today Zimbabwe’s share has been reduced to 22 players (20 percent) of the total 102 foreign players lighting up the stadia in the Super Diski.
A marked increase in the number of the physically-superior West African players in that league has been witnessed in the past two years.
Whereas in 2011 the West Africans contributed just over 10 percent, today a total of 26 players mainly from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo now ply their trade in the Super Diski, constituting 25 percent of the share.
With the South African Premier Soccer League constitution allowing five foreign players per club, translating to a total of 80 for the 16 clubs, competition for the slots has been intensified by the arrival of more job seekers.
Being the continent’s richest league, with sponsorship and TV rights figures nearing $300 million and clubs like Mamelodi Sundowns doling out as much as R480 000 ($48 000) monthly to Mozambican star Elias Pelembe, the Super Diski is a big magnet that has attracted players from as far as Belgium, Georgia, Netherlands and Serbia.
Are Zimbabwean players gradually bearing the brunt of the increased competition for the limited foreign slots?
Or are those players returning just mediocre and simply not good enough to hold their own in the conglomerate league?
Renowned player agent Edzai Kasinauyo, himself a former long-serving player in the Super Diski, agrees that times are changing and has warned the local players to up their game if they are to maintain their attractiveness.
“There are a lot of things that now affect Zimbabwean player’s chances of breaking into or staying at a South African club and the increased competition from other exporters is playing its part.
“The clubs no longer give a player a lot of time or chance to prove himself because they now have wider options and a bigger pool to choose from. As a foreigner, one’s case becomes even trickier because a lot is expected of them and if they don’t perform they are the first ones out.
“Sometimes a player may be just unlucky or not good enough, yet in some instances the abrupt changes in the coaching departments at these teams affect our players who would be new to the system,” said Kasinauyo.
Another acclaimed local agent Gibson Mahachi, who brokered Mukamba’s move to Bidvest Wits last year, dismisses the notion that the Zimbabwean players coming back to the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League are failures.
“There are a lot of dimensions involved in the issue and it’s unfair to say our players are failing. Some players are just not lucky enough, some fail to fit into a new coach’s style of play and sadly, they are forced to pack their bags.
“The South African league has become more competitive and can now even attract players from Europe, but on the other hand our record as Zimbabweans is proven and we remain a trusted source of players,” he said.
Others feel the desperation among local players to cross the Limpopo has left many with no choice but to make a move at all costs, regardless of the repercussions.
“We no longer have South African scouts coming to watch our games here the way they used to in the past. The desperation of players seeking greener pastures has led to agents just shipping our boys there haphazardly,” argued one analyst.
The increased influx has been a topic of discussion among football pundits in South Africa, with some likening it to a small fire that needs to be put out before it causes more harm to the country’s junior policy.
Writing for the football website One Two late last year, Thomas Monyepao argued that the quota system was not serving its purpose effectively as a number of clubs were bypassing the system either by seeking permanent residence for players with five or more service, while those with less and have a minimum net worth of R7.5 million can attain citizenship by merely paying R75 000.
