The FBA

09/10/2026

08/10/2026

Application open November, prepare your documents!

08/10/2026

Coach Ernst Middendorp has raised an important question about the South Africa U16 squad selected for the Germany tour. Of the 19 selected players, 14 come from Gauteng, and most of them are from Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, while six provinces, including the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, have no players at all.

As he rightly points out, the issue is not whether the selected players deserve their places, because a national team does not need equal representation from every province. What every young player does need is an equal opportunity to be seen, and the numbers suggest that talent is being found where it is easiest to see rather than where it actually is.

This is why we at The Football Business Academy believe so strongly in building qualified scouting capacity in every province. Our Sport Talent Scout qualification exists so that a gifted 15-year-old in Mthatha, Polokwane or Kimberley has the same chance of being identified as one playing in a big-club academy in Johannesburg. Talent exists in every province, and the real question is whether we have the people and structures in place to find it.

What do you think? Is our national scouting reaching far enough?

29/09/2026