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Steven Pienaar would like to see the South African government step in to reinvigorate the South African Football Association Transnet Football School of Excellence.
The 38-year-old former Bafana, Dortmund, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder came through the school as a budding youngster.
He speaks highly of the impact the institution had on the South African national team and laments its demise in recent years.
Pienaar told TimesLIVE: "When I was there it was totally different. Transnet pumped in a lot of money into the school because they believed in the project and they were fully behind it."
He added: "Over the last couple of years the school has been going a bit downward with not enough players coming through for different reasons.
"I don't know if it’s the financial part of things with sponsors not putting enough money in or what.
"It is a school that the government has to get involved in because it has produced a lot of talented players.
"If I am not mistaken, about 80% of the players from the school turned professional and some of them played for Bafana Bafana."
Pienaar is currently in the Netherlands where he is completing his coaching badges with Ajax.
- TEAMtalk media
