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Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos is blaming Cassius Mailula’s agent for the striker’s slow progress and adaptation to the Major League Soccer with his new club Toronto FC.
Responding to media questions on Thursday after announcing the latest Bafana squad to play Eswatini and Ivory Coast on 13 and 17 October respectively, Broos addressed why Mailula had not made the team since his move to Canada in August.
The Belgian squarely placed the blame on the former Mamelodi Sundowns forward’s agent, who he feels led the player in the wrong direction.
"You have a good agent when the agent is looking at you. But if you have an agent that is always only looking at his wallet then you don't have it, and I'm afraid that Mailula does not have a good agent," commented Broos.
"When you let him go to Toronto, where you know that there are two senior Italian internationals are there, and that there's a Canadian international [Deandre] Kerr, and you let go of a young player like this, who has 15 games experience in the PSL – that is not the right choice.
"And Mailula will not play, you will see, even in the next months. In a month the competition [MLS] is finished in America, so for me he's lost a season.
"And again, I don't want to blame him for that, it's certainly not [his fault]. I think you have to blame the agent because, you know, as an agent, when he goes there then it will be very, very difficult for that guy.
"It should have been better that he stays in Sundowns, and plays Champions League again, so he could get the experience and maybe get a move in one or two years, but now it was much too soon and not the right club."
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Mailula is represented by the first South African female football agent Karabo Tshabuse, who is also FIFA accredited upon the latest FIFA Agent Regulations coming into effect as of 1 October 2023.
The reigning DStv Premiership Young player of the Season, following a good return of 15 goals and four assists in all competitions – including the CAF Champions League, had a firing start to his professional football career with Sundowns.
It came as little surprise when he was sold just before the start of the 2023/24 season in August to Toronto FC, in a deal reportedly worth over R40 million.
SABC Sport has established that Mailula has, in fact, been recovering from a groin injury, and it’s unclear whether Broos was aware thereof before targeting Tshabuse.
With the 2023 MLS season, which runs from February to October before the play-offs commence, coming to an end soon, Broos’ comments may suggest Mailula’s chances of making the AFCON squad in Ivory Coast in January 2024 are very slim.
That is unless he can get a temporary loan move – something the likes of David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic often did to keep themselves in contention for their European national teams.
