UEFA Champions League football-chasing star reacts to 'disrespectful' Hugo Broos' 'not at Bafana Bafana level' jibe as former PSL star seeks glory in Europe

Hugo Broos has unveiled his 25-man Bafana Bafana squad set to take part at the 2025 AFCON tournament in Morocco. 

Premier Soccer League players dominate the selection once again, with Orlando Pirates stars forming the core of the team by providing nine men. 

Broos has included six Europe-based players and two who ply their trade in the Middle East, maintaining his strong preference for locally based talent. 

It is a continuation of the approach he used at the previous AFCON in the Ivory Coast, where home-grown players played a vital role. 

One of the notable omissions is Denmark-based winger Gift Links, who has been overlooked despite his consistent performances for Aarhus GF. 

His exclusion comes barely a month after Broos publicly stated that the Aarhus star “is not at the level of the national team.” 

Links has since responded to the snub after he did not even feature on the preliminary list. 

"To be honest, I don’t think coach Hugo Broos is snubbing me," Links KickOff. 

"The competition in the national team is very high, and the players who have been getting call-ups have done well for the team. My job is to support them, stay focused, and keep working hard because I believe my time will come again. It’s all about consistency, hard work, and belief.  

"I don’t think that’s the case [that Broos does not watch small leagues]. Look at Samukelo Kabini, he has recently been called up, and he plays in Norway, which is a league quite similar to where I play," added the former Cape Town City star.  

"I can’t say for sure whether they watch every league, but I believe they do pay attention. Players from leagues in America and other so-called smaller leagues also get opportunities." 

While Links has tried to be diplomatic in his reaction to what Broos said about him, the player's agent, Paul Mitchell, says his client was hit hard by the coach's comments, labelling them as disrespectful.

“Obviously, it was very disappointing, the comments that he made,"  Mitchell said.    

"Gift couldn’t understand it because it’s not about whether we think that Gift should be in the national team, that’s not what this is about, even though he is playing at the top of his game in a higher-level league than the PSL, and that’s a fact.       

“It’s not about whether he or we think he should be in the squad, the bottom line is that he has not been in any of the squads since Broos’ first-ever squad against Zimbabwe and Ghana, even though he got injured against Zimbabwe.          

“We believe, or we have heard, that it was suggested at that time that he wasn’t injured but that’s also incorrect because he went back to Denmark and he was out for four months, and that he shouldn’t have really travelled," added the top agent.         

“The bottom line is that Gift has not been in but is playing extremely well, been selected for Team of the Week consistently, getting big accolades from the Danish press and his team [AGF] are currently in the top three of the Superliga, one point off the top and Gift has been outstanding for the club.         

“The fact remains that he has not once complained, gone to the media or spoken out. He’s gotten his head down like all players should do and he’s worked, and that’s why he was flabbergasted by the comments. He’s upset, and naturally so because the comments were disrespectful.”

The Bafana snub leaves Links with the challenge of continuing to fight for Broos’ attention through consistent performances. 

As a left-wing wing-back, he has always faced stiff competition for a national team opportunity.  The position is stacked with Aubrey Modiba and Samukelo Kabini.

Broos holds Kabini and Modiba in high regard, which makes Links’ path even tougher.  For now, the player will be focusing on helping Danish Superliga log leaders, Aarhus, achieve their objectives for this season.

Aarhus are pushing for the title and winning it would earn them a spot in next season's UEFA Champions League.