South Africa: Brian Baloyi Warns of SA Goalkeeper Crisis Ahead of World Cup

27 January 2026
Scrolla (Johannesburg)
By Dylan Bettencourt
  • Brian Baloyi says Safa must meet the PSL to fix the flood of foreign goalkeepers taking spots from local players.
  • Almost half of Betway Premiership teams play foreign goalkeepers, blocking South African players from getting game time and international experience.

Former Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brian Baloyi has warned that South Africa faces a goalkeeper crisis.

He said the South African Football Association (Safa) needs to meet with the Premier Soccer League (PSL) about foreign goalkeepers taking spots from local players.

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"We have no option after the three guys. We are lacking in competition," Baloyi said.

He is worried that if anything happens to Bafana's three goalkeepers before the World Cup, coach Hugo Broos will be stuck. The World Cup kicks off on 11 June in Mexico, Canada and the US.

Bafana face Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in their opening match.

The three goalkeepers are Ronwen Williams, Sipho Chaine and Ricardo Goss. Baloyi said Chaine and Goss are far behind Williams in quality.

"At the moment we have to cross our fingers and pray that Ronnie doesn't get injured because the other two are extremely inexperienced at international level," he said.

Baloyi, who played 24 times for Bafana, said PSL clubs are choosing foreign goalkeepers over South Africans.

Almost half of the Betway Premiership teams have foreign goalkeepers, and most are starters. This means local goalkeepers cannot get game time and experience.

Nine foreign goalkeepers who play in the PSL appeared in the Fifa World Cup African qualifiers.

"The biggest part of it is that almost 50% of the clubs in the premiership and in the first division are playing with foreign goalkeepers. Unfortunately the nation suffers," Baloyi said.

He said Safa must fix this problem.

"This is a national problem. It's not a PSL problem," he said.

"It has to be Safa that sits the PSL down and says, 'We have this problem, and to solve this problem, this is what we need to do."'

Baloyi said the top four or five teams in the country need to play with South African goalkeepers.

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