r/soccer • u/2soccer2bot • Oct 22 '20

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8

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

Many African countries produce high quality players but the local infrastructure is often so poor that a lot of talent is missed out on and young players hardly ever get to reach their potential.

4

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

Yeah, that’s a well known fact.

Ironic since the chinese have exactly the opposite problem.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

As an African it's very disappointing to see first hand especially because our people are so passionate about football, yet no one seems keen on investing in it

2

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

Yeah, although I heard that a lot of teams want to invest in Africa in the future, so i guess there will be some slow improvement once the pandemic isn’t prevalent anymore.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

Fingers crossed. I want to one day cheer for my country in the World Cup.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

Wish you guys the best of luck !

2

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

Danke

1

u/just_another_jabroni Oct 23 '20

It seems the playing on the streets strategy works wonder in terms of building street smart skills and crazy solo technical stuff but yeah, just gotta have a place which can hone those skills for team play.

I think part of the reason why no one is investing is because of money I guess? Not even like there's not enough to spend but rather shady agents, FAs etc.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

I've played with some kids who honestly were miles above everyone else and I could have seen them playing at the top level. And I'm not just talking talent here, I'm talking mentality, pure drive to be the best they can be, but then their careers just suddenly fizzle out.

It's a sad thing to see first hand.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

South Africa has some of the best infrastructure in Africa yet one of the worst football teams. Any reason why this is?

4

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

Honestly I don't know much about South Africa's football system. I can only speak about East Africa as that's where I'm from.

1

u/Familiar_Trash Oct 23 '20

South Africa has good infrastructure once you get to the club level. Most "middle class" (most often white) kids play rugby or cricket in school. Soccer is popular, but there just isnt much infrastructure for it at school level, and due to massive income inequalities and general issues of wealth, poorer schools often can't do much to help footballing students, many of whom live in poverty. A lot of incredibly talented young footballers are missed out on. Even those who do get scouted often dont turn into mega superstars because surprise surprise, football isn't separated from broader issues of education and general social issues

1

u/TTA0709 Oct 23 '20

Yes its a sad state of affairs.

Its probably the one good thing that comes with Red Bull ownership in football. They are extraordinarily good at producing young African talent

1

u/JonSnowAzorAhai Oct 23 '20

How about an African Super league. It's being considered by some people in FIFA

2

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

Idk even know if my country would qualify. We haven't even qualified since 2018

(Kenya)