We need to broaden our horizons

I think the first objective was to get out of the group stages of the FIFA U17 World Cup, which they did, and for these boys to qualify for the World Cup is an achievement in itself.

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Valuable experiences were gained in terms of the players understanding what's happening elsewhere and the coaches sharing what's happening out there in the world. It shows that our U17s can provide the blueprint for our development, and all the hard work is paying off. I think it was good for them to get out of the group stages because, once we find ourselves in that position again, we'll be able to push ourselves further. I'm talking about the quarterfinals, semis and even the final. Considering that we haven't been there for years, it's a great achievement. Of course, there were reported challenges ahead of the tournament, but the boys went there and did well. That shows us that the gap between South Africa and the rest of the world is not that big, we just need to do what we do well on a consistent basis - playing friendly matches regularly, especially when there are international breaks. Our youth need to play regularly and we can only learn from the teams we play against. If we were not at the World Cup, for instance, we were not going to learn anything about the latest trends and developments in international football; and where other countries are, in terms of their development. Now that we were there and competed, everyone in international football knows what South Africa has in terms of youth football. Hopefully, more doors can open up for these players. It's also up to us now to start grooming these boys for U20, U23 and ultimately Bafana Bafana. To do so, we need to play against a lot of these overseas teams the likes of Japan, Portugal, etc. We need to make it a norm so that we can be used to playing against the strong football-playing nations instead of focusing on the continent. We need to broaden our horizons.

On playing against Japan, Bolivia, Italy and Qatar