Ephraim ‘Jomo’ Sono has revealed he expected Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Thabo Cele in Bafana Bafana’s Afcon 2025.
While Sono feels Hugo Broos‘ side can bring home the title, Cele’s creativity would have stood out.
HUGO BROOS SELECTS FOUR MIDFIELDERS FOR BAFANA BAFANA
The 73-year-old Belgian, who will call time on his career after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, selected four midfielders ahead of the Chiefs star Cele: Teboho Mokoena, Bathusi Aubaas (both Mamelodi Sundowns), Sphephelo Sithole (CD Tondela in Portugal) and Thalente Mbatha (Orlando Pirates).
“It is a good squad coach Hugo Broos has selected for the AFCON. Whether Lorch is there or not, it’s the squad the coach has decided to use, and I believe it’s a squad that can reach the final,” Sono told KickOff. “The player I would have loved to see in the team is Thabo Cele. Our current squad works hard in midfield, but they lack creativity.
SONO A FAN OF CHIEFS STAR THABO CELE
“Maybe Cele is missing, but the squad is balanced. I have seen Cele play. He is a very good player. Cele is creative, he’s got a very good engine. He never stops running. And he’s got a little bit of experience.
The “Black Prince,” also a former Bafana Bafana coach in Burkina Faso in 1998, made it clear that his loyalty to coach Broos has never wavered as he backed the Belgian from the very first day he set foot in South Africa. Sono concluded to reveal he is not just a supporter, but a genuine follower and admirer of Broos’ work.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Cele, who joined Chiefs in January after leaving Poland’s Fakel Voronezh as a free agent, has played 29 games as he continues to adapt to the faster and less structured local game. The KwaMashu-born star is naturally a holding midfielder who “holds” space, controls tempo and distributes as a deep-lying playermaker, rather than a defensive or box-to-box midfielder, which is the best fit for the counter-attack-heavy Betway Premiership.
To own a regular place in any PSL team, Cele may need to tweak his game and become a mobile, box-to-box operator to meet the demands of Betway Premiership football.