Mamelodi Sundowns' stars challenged to leave club in order to boost their World Cup chances with Bafana Bafana

Former Stellenbosch left winger Diego Brown has told Fawaaz Basadien and Jayden Adams to leave Mamelodi Sundowns to seek more playing time and boost their World Cup chances with Bafana Bafana.

The two were not much involved in the latter part of the World Cup qualification journey, and for them to get their slots in the national side back, they need to get enough minutes at club level to show their form and fitness.

This can only happen if they leave the Premier Soccer League heavyweights in January, Brown argues.

"I think for Fawaaz and Jayden, it would be a no-brainer to take a loan move in the next window to get some game time under their belts. Both went from lots of playing time at Stellenbosch to limited playing time at Sundowns. They were key players (at Stellenbosch)," Brown told Soccer Laduma.

"It’s normal for them to have made a move to Sundowns because professional players are always dreaming and thinking about big moves. Why are you playing football if you don’t have big aspirations for yourself? But we also need to look at their current situation," he added.

"We have the Africa Cup of Nations coming and then the World Cup next year. These are tournaments anyone would want to be part of. So, for the sake of their dreams and aspirations, I would suggest a loan move for them to get playing time. In my opinion, both of them need this opportunity to represent their country."

Since he joined Masandawana, Basadien has yet to fully break into the club's starting XI owing to the competition. His competitors for the left-back position are Aubrey Modiba and Divine Lunga, who are mostly preferred to him.

Although Adams has been starting on a more regular basis for Sundowns, he was left out of the last two national team camps.

After Bafana qualified for the 2026 finals, it is perhaps a dream of every South African player to be part of the squad that will take part in the global competition.

However, Hugo Broos is expected to stick with the majority of the players who played bigger roles in the qualification journey. For the rest, they must pull their socks up and hope they are considered. This is the reality Adams and Basadien, former Stellenbosch stars, must face as they hope to get their Bafana slots back.