Ernst Middendorp identifies what's holding South African football back - ‘We don't have one main coach’

Following Bafana Bafana’s narrow exit in the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, former Kaizer Chiefs head coach Ernst Middendorp has offered a stern assessment of the state of South African football.

Middendorp, speaking on the Changing The Game podcast hosted by Pitso Mosimane, argued that the current system is not designed to produce sustained success.

He suggested that relying on the traditional giants of the Premier Soccer League is no longer enough to compete with the evolving quality of international opponents, who benefit from more robust youth structures.

One of Middendorp’s primary concerns is the lack of a unified coaching philosophy and a clear leadership structure at the youth levels of the national team.

He pointed to a culture of temporary appointments and a limited scouting radius as major hurdles that prevent the best talent in the country from reaching the first team.

"In South Africa, in the youth, we don't have one main coach, if we go to the tournament, where we can qualify for the World Cup, we don't have a coach, we say, 'Oh let's take this one Mr Khumalo from Kaizer Chiefs'.

"We didn't go to Bloemfontein, Polokwane, East London," Middendorp said.

"Okay let's take a huge number [of players] from Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates, and Sundowns and then we have it, this cannot be."

The veteran German mentor insisted that the problem is not merely about tactical choices on the pitch, but rather the entire ecosystem surrounding the sport.

He believes that the governance of football in South Africa needs to be professionalised to match the standards seen in other national pastimes like rugby and cricket.

"It's for the country, to handle it not immediately as the rugby or cricket but in my opinion, you do it more, going into schools, we can put the curriculum, it's not about money, that soccer get the same handling from the age of eight, 10, if you can put it in, you've done the first step," Middendorp added.

This approach, he argues, would create a broader base of technically proficient players.

Beyond the training ground, Middendorp highlighted the importance of how the sport is funded and managed at the highest level.

He believes that the way international grants and investments are utilised will dictate whether Mzansi can take the next step or remain stuck in a cycle of underachievement.

"The second step is how the money is handled coming into the country [from FIFA]," the German coach noted.

As Bafana look toward the next World Cup cycle, the calls for structural reform continue to grow louder from those who have managed at the highest levels of the domestic game.