South Africa’s senior national team mentor, Hugo Broos, is a worried man.
The Belgian’s source of frustration is the goalkeeping crisis, and Broos was forthright when addressing the situation.
“It’s already a concern for two years, and I’ve already been looking for young South African goalkeepers,” said Broos as he announced the squad to play Lesotho and Benin in FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers this month.
“A lot of PSL clubs have foreign goalkeepers, and the young South African goalkeepers are only third (in the pecking order). We don’t really have a young, talented goalkeeper at the moment. It’s a big concern,” he added.
The three goalkeepers in Bafana Bafana’s current squad are Ronwen Williams (33 years), Ricardo Goss (30), and Sipho Chaine (28).
Williams has played a pivotal role for the national team and reached 50 caps in November last year when Bafana Bafana beat South Sudan 3-0 in Cape Town.
The Gqeberha-born keeper was instrumental as Bafana finished third in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), played in Ivory Coast.
However, Goss and Chaine are capped once in Bafana colours, and if Williams is not in goal, it could ignite a debate as to who should be in goal.
In years gone by, the goalkeeping department was one of Bafana Bafana’s strongest areas. In the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations squad, Bafana Bafana had Andre Arendse, Roger De Sa, and John Tlale vying for the position.
Later on, Bafana have had the likes of Brian Baloyi, Hans Vonk, Rowen Fernandez, Calvin Marlin, Moeneeb Josephs, the late Senzo Meyiwa, and Itumeleng Khune, who was between the sticks during the FIFA 2010 World Cup on home soil.
Broos is not the first one to express concern about Bafana Bafana’s current situation or the goalkeeping situation in South Africa.
SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt suggested in October 2024 that South Africa should copy the Egyptian Premier League, where foreign goalkeepers are not allowed.
“It is very difficult if you look at teams; there are a lot of foreign goalkeepers around. Maybe the rules have to be changed, or the clubs need to give opportunities to the local goalkeeper if there is availability,” said Hunt.
Currently, foreign goalkeepers are regulars in at least half the Premier Soccer League (PSL) teams.
