‘I don’t have anything against Chiefs’: Broos on absence of Amakhosi players in Bafana squad

You would have expected a few Kaizer Chiefs players to have made Hugo Broos' squad for next month's friendlies against Tanzania and Mozambique, but the Bafana Bafana coach says he was not impressed with Amakhosi's performance in the 2024-2025 season.

Chiefs failed to finish in the top eight for the second successive season, ending in ninth as the Betway Premiership concluded at the weekend.

But with Nasreddine Nabi having ended Chiefs' 10-year drought by capturing the Nedbank Cup, Broos was asked if that was not enough to give him confidence in some Chiefs players for the friendlies against Tanzania at Peter Mokaba Stadium on June 6 and Mozambique at Loftus Versfeld on June 10.

The coach's 23-man squad named on Thursday included a number of fringe players in need of game time and new names as the coach cast his net wider for these games to widen his talent pool. It contained nine players from Orlando Pirates and players from clubs such as AmaZulu, Chippa United, Sekhukhune United and Richards Bay selected for the first time.

“For the moment I think I can't select the players of Kaizer Chiefs,” Broos said. “I hope they produce a better season next year.

“OK, they won the cup, but I think that was the only highlight in the season for Chiefs. All the rest was not so good.

“OK, the supporters are happy now because they won the cup, but we have to be honest and I don't have anything against Chiefs. I have to be honest in my choices.

“Most of the time it was not that good with Chiefs — otherwise a team like Chiefs [would not be] No 9 in the ranking. They [should be] No 3, No 2 or No 1.

“But it's up to them that they produce good performances next year and they play like I expect from the top team like Chiefs.”

South African football has enjoyed a strong 2025 with the South African U-17 and U-20 sides qualifying for their age group world cups. Amajita were crowned U-20 African champions, beating Morocco in the final two weeks ago.

Broos warned that for South Africa to maintain its standard, young players must not be lost in the system after those successes.

“I think we're at the crossroads for the moment, because now we have to react as a football federation,” the Belgian said.

“If we're happy now and just happy, I can assure you in two or three years you won't find anything anymore of what we have now. 

“You have to work hard now and have a follow-up — not like in the past when there was a qualification for Afcon then after Afcon the U-20 and U-17 players disappeared and you didn't see them any more.

“Helman [Mkhalele, Broos' assistant] told me last week he was with the U-19s in 2019 at the World Cup but look how many players from that team you'll find now. They disappeared.

“You have U-19s and U-20s who will normally graduate to U-23, and Bafana after that. But you have to follow them up now.” 

Pirates' young trio of defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi, 19, midfielder Simphiwe Selepe, 20, and striker Mohau Nkota, 20, and Ashley Cupido of Stellenbosch FC, Tshepang Moremi of AmaZulu and Yanela Mbuthuma of Richards Bay are some of the new faces in Broos' squad.

No Mamelodi Sundowns players were included as they will start preparations for their appearance at the expanded Fifa Club World Cup in the US in June and July.

Bafana report to camp on Sunday.