DStv Diski Challenge celebrates 10 graduates in Bafana Afcon squad
David Notoane and Thabo September reflect on the positive impact of the DStv Diski Challenge in South Africa’s successful Afcon campaign.
The DStv Diski Challenge marks 10 years since its inception and revamp from what was originally the MultiChoice Diski Challenge. In that time, countless graduates have gone on to ply their trade in the DStv Premiership, with an elite few going one further and representing the country.
The Bafana Bafana squad of the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup (AFCON), played in 2024, boasts 10 such graduates, yet again proving how vital a cog in the South African developmental structures the DStv backed Diski Challenge is.
“The programme has shown over the years to create a nice buffer for the transition of players into the DStv Premiership,” said Mamelodi Sundowns youth coach and former South African U23 coach David Notoane.
“They have gone through the Diski Challenge programme and today we see them at AFCON having gone through the junior national teams.”
The creation of this pipeline has undoubtedly had significant technical and tactical effects on the kinds of players produced. However, in Notoane’s view, who coached the likes of Percy Tau, it is important to recognise the positive impact on the psychological side of the game as well.
“The Diski Challenge gives them (players) the opportunity to transition not only from the physical and technical (aspect) but also from a mental aspect. To understand the do’s and the don’ts, the pros and the cons of being in an environment.”
Mental hurdles such as the frustration of limited playing minutes and the lack of selection are but a few barriers young players tend to battle. Graduates such as Jayden Adams and Oswin Appollis have seen themselves in such
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