Sundowns coach Mokwena questions why naturalisation isn't a big thing in SA football

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rhulani Mokwena remained surprised as to how South African football hasn't gone with the naturalisation of foreign players who can't play for their countries.

In Uruguayan forward Gaston Sirino, Sundowns have a forward who may not be able to play for his country due to the quality of the players available there, but can qualify to play for South Africa through residence.

Sirino has completed five years of residence in South Africa through his stay with Sundowns, whom he joined in in January 2018. He turns 32 next month.

Mokwena said many countries have been comfortable with the naturalisation of players they deemed to be important to their cause.

An example of a naturalised player who punished Bafana Bafana at two consecutive African Cup of Nations tournaments in 2006 and 2008 was Brazilian-born Francileudo dos Santos, who played for Tunisia and scored three goals in two group games.

"The naturalisation of players shouldn't be something that surprises us," Mokwena said.

"We should be at every World Cup and participating at every Afcon because of the quality of players we have, but I don't understand why the naturalisation of players from countries who have a surplus of players is a debate.

"Those players should be used elsewhere but can't play in their own countries because of the quantity and quality of the players in their country that doesn't allow them to play for their own national teams.

"I'm surprised we have this discussion because it's a normal footballing thing, especially for big football teams.

"France has several players who are of African descent who plays for them, so the talk should centre around how we make our national team better.

"If the solution is to naturalise some of the