Njabulo Blom (Getty Images)
- Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has aired his frustrations with Njabulo Blom’s club St. Louis City SC.
- The 23-year-old former Kaizer Chiefs star made Broos’s 23-man squad for crucial Afcon qualifiers against Liberia.
- Blom is under the impression that he may have Covid.
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos is unhappy with St. Louis City SC – the Major League Soccer club Njabulo Blom plays for in the United States.
The national team’s mentor expressed his grievances about the manner in which St. Louis handled Blom’s call-up to Bafana for the crucial back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Liberia.
Blom left Kaizer Chiefs in December to join legendary Bafana Bafana defender and St. Louis head coach Bradley Carnell in the US.
The 23-year-old has done superbly and caught the attention of Broos.
“Njabulo played the first two games, last game he didn’t play,” Broos explained on SABC after announcing his 23-man squad for the Afcon qualifiers
“We had immediate contact with St. Louis. They said he is sick. But what is sick? They didn’t answer.
“So we had contact with Njabulo, and he said ‘yeah. I don’t feel so good. I think I have Covid’. I said: ‘Ok, but do the test if you think you have Covid’.
“Today is Thursday. I’ve been speaking [with St. Louis] since Tuesday already.
“Yesterday, we got a note from St. Louis at five o’clock in the afternoon that the coaching staff and the medical staff were discussing the situation of Blom.
“We are now 20 hours later, and we didn’t have an answer until now.”
Bafana Bafana 23-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns), Veli Mothwa (AmaZulu), Ricardo Goss (SuperSport United)
Defenders: Sydney Mobbie (Sekhukhune United), Innocent Maela (Orlando Pirates), Nkosinathi Sibisi (Orlando Pirates), Thapelo Morena (Mamelodi Sundowns), Aubrey Modiba (Mamelodi Sundowns), Grant Kekana (Mamelodi Sundowns), Mothobi Mvala (Mamelodi Sundowns), Siyanda Xulu (Turan-Tovuz IK, Azerbaijan)
Midfielders: Njabulo Blom (St. Louis City, USA), Teboho Mokoena (Mamelodi Sundowns), Luke Le Roux (Vargerb Bois, Sweden), Sphephelo Sithole (Belenenses, Portugal)
Forwards: Monnapule Saleng (Orlando Pirates), Lyle Foster (Burnley, England), Mihlali Mayambela (Aris Limassol, Cyprus), Bongokuhle Hlongwane (Minnesota, USA), Themba Zwane (Mamelodi Sundowns), Zakhele Lepasa (Orlando Pirates), Percy Tau (Al Ahly, Egypt), Cassius Mailula (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Broos believes there is something fishy about the whole ordeal, but the coach is not panicking.
The 70-year-old knows the FIFA rule book and says St. Louis will have to deal with the world governing body if they withhold the player from joining the national team.
“I’m not nervous [about the situation]. I’m angry. This is not correct,” Broos confessed.
“They can tell us, ‘this is the problem, he has Covid’. Ok, we have to change [and call up another player]
“When the situation is not clear, you’re starting to think about things that maybe are not there.
“I saw in America that next week, there is a league game. 26 [March], they play – also the team of (Bongokuhle) Hlongwane, but Hlongwane is no problem.
“I’m afraid that they’re trying to keep Njabulo there but that will not happen.
“We know the rules, so if he doesn’t come with a correct reason, he will not play with them because then we go to FIFA.”
South Africa host the West African nation on Friday, 24 March (18:00) at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, and play again four days later on Wednesday, 28 March (18:00 SA time) in the Liberian capital of Monrovia.
