Kaizer Chiefs' Bvuma deserves Bafana Bafana call-up, Mathibe suggests

Former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Aubrey Mathibe has explained why he thinks Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was correct in his decision to include Bruce Bvuma in his squad for the upcoming international friendlies.

Bafana are set to tour Europe for the first time since 2012 and will play Guinea in Belgium on March 25, before facing France four days later in Lille.

Despite Bvuma falling behind Brandon Peterson and Daniel Akpeyi in the pecking order at Chiefs, and having last played a match in September 2021, he still found his way back into the national team fold.

“Bvuma is a good goalkeeper. I think the Bafana Bafana coach has seen the potential in Bvuma and can see how good he is,” Mathibe told Soccer Laduma.

“The boy is working hard and whenever he gets a chance at Chiefs, he performs well. Goalkeeping is not the same as playing inside.

"I feel that he believes in the three goalkeepers he has selected because since he took over as Bafana Bafana coach, he is always selecting them.

“But the boy is talented. I think in future he will do well because being in the national team is motivation. He is competing with good goalkeepers at Chiefs, so it's good for him. It shows that they have quality goalkeepers.

“Whenever he gets his chance, he should grab it, just like Petersen did. I am happy for him. He still has a lot of time to learn and being part of the national team will help him.”

Bvuma has played just three Premier Soccer League games this season and was not considered for Cup matches.

It is not the first time for the 26-year-old to be considered for national team duty despite seeing little game time at Chiefs.

Since the days of Stuart Baxter as Bafana coach, Bvuma travelled to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals together with fellow keepers Ronwen Williams and Darren Keet.

Even during Molefi Ntseki’s brief spell at the helm of Bafana, Bvuma was still being selected.