Departing Mamelodi Sundowns Head of academy and methodology, Shawn Bishop, says the Brazilians are serious about the development of young players.
This season, Sundowns introduced Cassius Mailula to the Dstv Premiership, and the 21-year-old forward has since went on to take the league by storm, scoring and creating goals like a seasoned professional.
Besides Mailula, who has already made his Bafana Bafana debut, Sundowns have also given cameo appearances to youth internationals, Ntando Nkosi and Siyabonga Mabena.
Introducing youngsters to the senior team is impressive coming from a team that is known not to hesitate when it comes to opening their cheque book to buy players they need.
Despite doing great work with the Sundowns academy, Bishop has been afforded an opportunity he couldn't refuse to work in Europe.
"It’s an opportunity that I couldn’t say no to, but the official announcement regarding that will come from Sundowns. The board, the chairman and everybody have been involved in the process," said Bishop as quoted by SABC Sport. https://www.sabcsport.com/soccer/news/confirmed-shawn-bishop-leaving-sundowns-head-of-academy-post
Bishop says he is planning to open a lot of opportunities for youngsters once he gets overseas.
"From Sundowns there’s no other African club you can go to. I felt that for my growth this is something I needed to do. I am planning to open a lot of doors for youngsters as well and see what we can do going forward," he added.
"The important thing for me is the operational structures that I have put in place – the growth and the changes in the academy from when I took over from the Johan Cruyff Foundation after learning a lot from those guys," Bishop explained.
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"I helped make sure the club has had growth and is sustainable, and the thing with academy football is that it’s a long-term athletic development plan. People think players are developed in two or three years, they are not. It’s 10 years. Sundowns are serious about development – Thando Buthelezi, Kabelo Moagi…those boys have been with us since they were 11-years old and now making their debuts in the first team."
