With former Kaizer Chiefs and Bidvest defender Thomas Sweswe having secured his permanent South African Working permit, which virtually makes him a South African, and fellow Zimbabwean Matthew Rusike following suit, a question must be asked: how does this help football in this country?
A couple of years ago Mamelodi Sundowns attacker, Anthony Laffor, became a local and was even registered as such, and yet at international level he still plays for his native Liberian National Team.
If a player at club level is registered as a local, this means that he is essentially a South African and therefore a ‘South African player’ has no business playing for any other nation than South Africa.
What is being promoted here is the fact that foreign players can have the best of both worlds... have their cake and eat it too, so to speak.
Their SA residency should benefit the country in which they are residents though.
Do you agree that foreign players registered as locals should be playing for Bafana Bafana?