South Africa’s U20 side, Amajita’s success in the CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations will stand the group in good stead for the future.

Amajita were crowned champions of Africa last weekend after beating Morocco 1-0 in the final played in Cairo, Egypt.

All but one in the squad play their football for SA Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs, and even so, most are on the fringes of the first teams across the country.

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos, however, has predicted a great future for the boys and will keep a close eye on their progress.

“Everything starts now for you. You are at a crossroads. If you take the right direction, I’ll be seeing you back next year in Bafana Bafana in big stadiums here in South Africa,” Broos told the boys on their arrival home this week.

“Or you can take the other way, and that’s the wrong way. You‘ve got every opportunity to have a nice life for the next 10 or 12 years as a professional football player, and believe me, it’s the nicest profession you can imagine.

“But you still have to work very hard in the next months. I hope you guys take the right lifestyle—this is very important to achieve.”

Broos added, “We’ve seen the performances at AFCON, and there are certainly players we have to watch in the next months. But on the other side, it should not be a decision we make in haste because they will play in the (U20) World Cup, and after that we’re playing in the (senior) Afcon (in Morocco in December and January).

“Let’s hope we qualify for the (senior) World Cup, and we can start maybe to integrate some of these young players into the senior national team.”