Pitso Mosimane believes Amajita’s back-to-back COSAFA Under-20 titles are evidence that South Africa’s football development structures are beginning to produce the next generation of players for Bafana Bafana.
Mosimane praised Raymond Mdaka and his young charges after they defeated hosts Mozambique 2-1 in Sunday’s COSAFA Under-20 final at ABB Stadium 1.
The victory secured another regional title for Amajita and also booked their place at the Africa Cup of Nations Under-20 tournament, continuing a run of success that Mosimane believes could provide a foundation for the senior national team.
“What we are doing is very, very good. Congratulations to coach Raymond. He has repeatedly taken the team forward, put the team up there and also given us the foundation for the SA Under-23s and to Bafana Bafana,” Mosimane said.
“He said, look at what we have, and what is coming.”
Amajita completed an unbeaten campaign by winning all five of their matches against Lesotho, Angola, Eswatini, Zambia and Mozambique.
They scored 13 goals and conceded only three, with goalkeeper Takalani Mazhamba named Goalkeeper of the Tournament and Steven Mendes finishing as the competition’s leading scorer with six goals.
For Mosimane, the significance of Amajita’s success goes beyond the silverware.
The continued progression of the Under-20 side provides a pathway for young players to gain international experience before making the transition to the senior national team.
Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams echoed those sentiments, saying the youngsters’ exposure to competitive international football could prove valuable in the years ahead.
“First and foremost, congratulations to the Under-20 team, Amajita, for what they’ve done, for qualifying again, back to back,” Williams said.
“You want to be there, you want to be a constant feature there. And they’ve done that now again.”
The 37-year-old goalkeeper singled out Emile Witbooi as one of the young players who has impressed him, pointing to the attacking midfielder’s quality and ability to produce decisive moments.
“When you saw the first goal from Emile Witbooi, dribbling so many players and then to slot the ball in the back of the net, amazing,” Williams said.
“The boy, high-quality player, you see it week in, week out.”
The Bafana captain believes the next challenge is to ensure that promising South African players continue progressing and, where possible, gain experience in stronger leagues and competitions.
“We’ve been trying as a country to export our talent, our players. But you need to perform as well,” Williams said.
“And the boys have shown that they can compete and perform at the highest level.”
Williams said having more South African players competing in leading international competitions would ultimately strengthen Bafana.
“Having all these exports playing in the biggest competitions in world football and competing, rising, showing good performances, it can only help us as a national team,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of exposing youngsters to higher levels of competition while they are still developing.
“These youngsters are playing these competitions at such a young age,” Williams said.
“So in a few years’ time, the experience and the quality will definitely show.”
South African Football Association (SAFA) president Dr Danny Jordaan also praised Mdaka and his players after their successful campaign.
“This is a credit to the coach and the wonderful players that we have. They really showed us that they are the best in Southern Africa and now they are going to Ghana 2027,” Jordaan said.
