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Johannesburg - National Under-17 coach Molefi Ntseki has some harsh words for professional players.
He says they should behave responsibly and stop spending so much money on material things, as they are role models to up-and-coming youngsters.
Speaking at the SA Schools Football Association (Sasfa) Copa Coca-Cola Under-15 national tournament in Mangaung, the 48-year-old said players should always think about their future and the days after they stop playing football.
Tough situation
He said that, once players started showing off, it meant “they can’t handle fame and their financial gains well”.
“A fancy car is not an investment,” said Ntseki.
“Players in top-flight football shouldn’t be doing that [buying fancy cars]. They should invest money so that, when they retire, they can continue to live the life they lived when they were still players".
The Amajimbos mentor went on to say that players were often caught in a tough situation in which they find themselves forced to live in two worlds.
“There is place of honey when they are still playing and [are] in the prime of their careers, making good money.
“And there is another life, when they have left football, after they have retired, and it shouldn’t be like that".
Other people
He said that, if a player was going to play for 12 or 13 seasons, he should think about life after football.
“Let’s say you retire at 35 and are going to live until 70, it means you should have a respectable life that you will be happy with for the 35 years after soccer. And it might not just be you as you may have kids and a family to look after".
He said development players should see football as a means to provide for themselves in their later years.
“Football should not be about ... social status over other people. This will lead to the players looking down on other people without looking after themselves as footballers".
He said local teams should follow the example of overseas clubs that take development seriously and instil professionalism at that level.
Crowned champions
He said Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam put players as young as 10 in their development programmes to prepare them for life after football.
Ntseki was one of the early mentors to coach in the Copa Coca-Cola tournament, way back in 1998.
Gauteng’s Clapham were crowned champions after beating Dr JL Dube of KwaZulu-Natal 2-1 in the final on Saturday.
