Sudesh Singh, a South African coach, has expressed concern over the lack of a unified football philosophy across African nations.

According to Singh, this failure by African football leaders is stunting the continent’s progress, as they often seek shortcuts and immediate results rather than long-term strategies.

In an interview with Brila FM, Singh, who serves as a football strategist at SuperSport, highlighted Nigeria’s wealth of natural talent as both a blessing and a curse.

Raw Talent Isn’t a Winning Formula

He pointed out that while Nigeria has an abundance of raw talent, the absence of a national playing philosophy is holding the team back.

Rangers Int’l players in action. Photo | X

“When you look at the impact of foreign coaches into Africa I think it is only a handful who have made a positive impact. They come to Africa to make names but the problem is we give them that gap because we don’t have a unified approach in Africa.

“If you look at the top nations in the world they have distinct playing styles and distinct coaching methodology that they use.”

No Identity Across African Football

Drawing comparisons with global football powerhouses, Singh continued, “We know how the Spanish play, the French, the German play, the Brazilian but in Africa you can’t identify one country here that has a unified philosophy or playing style not even Morocco.

Turning his focus to Nigeria and Ghana, Singh elaborated on how raw individual talent is not enough to guarantee success.

“Look at Nigeria and Ghana who I think have an abundance of natural raw talent and that talent which is individual talent, it is hurting Nigeria because they don’t have a national playing philosophy. They don’t know how the national team should play.”

Calvin Bassey (back) watches as Thomas Partey and Victor Osimhen contest for the ball during the FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Abuja. (Photo by Pius Utomi EKPEI / AFP)

“They only select individuals and try to put them together and only a few coaches could do that, especially with the international calendar when you work together for four or five days.

“So if you don’t have a national philosophy that unites players it is going to be very difficult.”

The Need for Tailored Coaching Curricula

Singh also stressed the importance of country-specific content in coaching education, arguing that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for Africa’s diverse football landscape.

“What is important is the content of the curriculum, The content has to be specific to the country and players.

“In Nigeria it is an exciting and amazing diversity, they have players from the South, North, East, and West, each with their own unique styles. But does Nigeria have a national philosophy that brings together all these qualities?”

A Call for Long-Term Planning

Rounding up Singh placed the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of African football leadership.

“Our football leaders are letting us down in Africa. There isn’t a unified vision, we want shortcuts and immediate results.

“Look at Spain, and Germany they put together long-term plans between 8 to 12 years because you work in four years cycle, the World Cup cycle but even four years is not enough to prepare.

“The minimum of 8 to 12 years is how you plan and prepare to challenge for world cup. But do we have the patience to do that.”