Bafana World Cup squad reflects PSL’s developing top talent – Tim Sukazi

By Velile Mnyandu
5th June 2026

TS Galaxy President and Premier Soccer League’s (PSL’s) Executive Committee member Tim Sukazi says the PSL can stand tall and be proud to have helped produce a strong team on the African continent, one that’s going to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Out of the 10 countries from Africa heading to the World Cup, they are the only national league in Africa with those numbers.

Sukazi says the PSL is a league that produces players of international class...

"South Africa will go to the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the only country that has a national team squad comprising of 98% of players playing in their local league. So that on its own is a record for the World Cup.

"These players earned their way through our DDC. I looked at the squad and I think 8 or 10 of them have played in the DDC. This augurs well for what is happening in our league."

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TS Galaxy is decently represented by their former players, talents that Sukazi helped polish after having signed them from Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates academies, and also players he gave a break to. These are the likes of Khulumani Ndamane, Samukele Kabini, and Kamogelo Sebelebele - players, Sukazi is proud to have helped elevate to higher standards.

Players like Ndamane and Kabini came to Galaxy as youthful talents that had played for the big clubs in the DDC league, and Sukazi says he had also promised them that with hard work, they would see themselves in the Bafana Bafana squad...

For a player like Ndamane, a young boy who hails from rural areas in Kwa-Zulu Natal, who came to Johannesburg looking for playing opportunities and battled his way into the Kaizer Chiefs development structures, before he moved to Galaxy. Today, he’s an African champion with Mamelodi Sundowns after just six months at the club and ready to play in the World Cup. This is the stuff of dreams, Sukazi is talking about, changing lives...

"The story of Ndamane as an individual remains untold. Him and I have been through a journey. If you're a youngster playing in the development setups and you see the likes of Ndamane, Kabini, or Sebelebele, you'll definitely look at TS Galaxy as a pathway to greater things. I think we've illustrated that in this country."