• Mayo and Mokwana recently went to North Africa
• Mzansi has four players now in that region
• Former Sundowns player believes there are better options

WHAT HAPPENED?

In recent years, North African heavyweights have grown their appetite regarding South African players.

A couple of days ago, Khanyisa Mayo signed for Algerian outfit CR Belouizdad while Elias Mokwana joined Esperance of Tunisia.

Apart from the duo, Percy Tau and Fagrie Lakay have been playing in Egypt.

The move is not appealing to former Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Bennett Mnguni.

WHAT MNGUNI SAID

"It is good for our players to be moving outside South Africa and grow their careers, but I think they should be going more to Europe so that we improve our national team and compete against the countries that have most of their players in the European Leagues," he told SNL24.

"So for me, I would say we better send our players to Europe than North Africa.

"We should aim at starting in Leagues like Belgium, Russia, or France and move to England, Spain, or Italy. If we can send players to those leagues, we will have a competitive national team," he added.

"So that is why I think we should encourage more players to go to Europe than North Africa."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

South Africa have been doing well internationally; they reached the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final and won a bronze with the majority of the playing unit plying their trade in the Premier Soccer League.

Bafana Bafana are among the favourites to represent the continent in the 2026 Fifa World Cup to be hosted jointly by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

It will be vital for South Africa international players to be exposed to all types of plays to stand a chance of helping the national team to deliver.

WHAT NEXT?

Mayo has been in and out of the national team, but if he delivers consistently at Belouizdad, it is obvious Hugo Broos might consider him.

Mokwana has the task of maintaining his form that saw the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs get attracted before Esperance won the race.