Since 2010, the north African giants have not been as successful as in previous generations, but that year marked a year when they were able to win the tournament a third successive time, having won it in 2006 and 2008 too. Those Egyptian sides were dominated by players from Al Ahly, with little to no players from their diaspora. CAF’s director of the development division, Raul Neves Chipenda, believes Bafana’s Mamelodi Sundowns-influenced starting XI has similarities to them.
“If you analyse other teams it is the opposite, most of the other teams only have players playing abroad,” the ex-Angolan Football Federation member told *Soccer Laduma* when asked about the lack of naturalisation within the current Bafana Bafana set-up. “South Africa is proof that we can work in our countries to develop our players and use our players in our leagues, but we must make our leagues competitive enough for them to be able to progress and be the best because I believe the only way we can develop our players is if we make them play against the best players.