Matthews has Olympic hope for Mokoena

SuperSport United CEO Stan Matthews hopes that the Tokyo Olympics will be a ticket to Europe for young midfielder Teboho Mokoena.

Mokoena is a stalwart of David Notoane’s under-23 side and would have had a shot at the captaincy for the Olympic Games that were due to be held this year, but have now been pushed to July 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Matthews wants to keep the 23-year-old in the Absa Premiership for another season, but after that believes it will be time for him to tackle Europe.

"Why would we want to lose Teboho before it's time for him to really shine and fly?” he said during a press conference with the South African Football Journalists Association. “We believe the Olympics is the perfect platform to sell Teboho out of. Obviously we're working on the assumption that he's selected, but I think that's pretty straightforward.

"Should he go, which he deserves in terms of his performances, and should he work hard to arrive at that Olympics in good physical and technical shape, then I've got no doubt that Teboho won't be returning to SuperSport United after that.

"That's a goal that we want for him, and obviously something we want for us, beyond his buy-out clause, which is not an earth-shattering one that's going to change our club in any way.”

Matthews says that the destination of Mokoena will be important if and when he does make it to Europe, where he will follow in the footsteps of other former SuperSport players. "From a legacy perspective, when we see Kamohelo Mokotjo, we're proud. When we saw Kermit Erasmus at Rennes, we were proud.

“Where does Teboho go to? We believe that he has the talent to play overseas. We believe he has the same capacity as a Bongani Zungu to go abroad and play at the highest level.”