Why is it that a country once so rich in white soccer talent is now able to produce only two names for the continent's premier event?
That's the question levelled at Bafana Bafana after the squad for the African Cup of Nations in Egypt contained only two whites in goalkeeper Calvin Marlin and defender Pierre Issa.
It's a parlous situation that has been a long time coming.
Over the years, since the advent of democracy in 1994, white people, both on and off the field, appear to have run away from the sport.
The solution is not as simple as blaming the selectors for picking just two whites for the Cup of Nations. The malaise goes a lot deeper.
For example: look at the pool there is to select from - at the 16 Premier League clubs, there are just 19 active white players (of which eight are goalkeepers).
Let's hypothetically surmise that each club has a squad of 25. So from a pool of 400 potential footballers, there are just 19 white players doing duty in the top flight of club soccer in the country.
Compare that with the 30 white South African footballers based overseas, in countries as far afield as Russia and Finland.
Is this an indication that there is a tendency for talented local white players to side-step the local Premier League and immediately look at overseas opportunities?
Yet there was a time, not so long ago, when white footballers played a crucial role in shaping the direction of Bafana - because it's important to note that since re-admission to Fifa and the first national team match in 1992, 32 white footballers have been capped by Bafana Bafana.
It's also interesting to remember that, during the era of apartheid, two local sides, Cape Town City and Hellenic, both laced with an abundance of local white footballers with great ability, played in the now-defunct all-white National Football League (NFL) - and derbies between the two clubs drew packed houses of white supporters at Hartleyvale Stadium.
In recent years, however, there has been a steady and alarming decline of emerging white players - and it is here, at grassroots level, that the problem needs to be addressed.
George Dearnaley, a burly striker who played three times for Bafana and is now the publisher of Kick Off soccer magazine, gave his thoughts on the subject.
"I grew up in Durban in the white, middle-class suburb of Montclair," said Dearnaley. "Also from there came other white footballers like Sean Dundee, Dillon Sheppard and Garath Ormshaw.
"As kids, we played for a club called Ramblers. It was at the time probably one of the biggest amateur soccer clubs in the country, with up to 50 junior teams. Today the club does not exist.
"Montclair has three soccer fields dotted around the suburb. When I grew up, everybody used to play soccer there. They don't any more. "When I was growing up, every kid had a ball. Now every kid has a cellphone.
"When I was kid, soccer in that area was strong. Now the kids are into computers, the malls, the beach and, I'm sorry to say, drugs.
"Competitive sport is the last thing on their minds. It's sad, but the white youth are no longer coming through, simply because they have other interests."
But Dearnaley admitted that other fears have also played a role in decimating the emergence of the white footballer.
"When I played, I was always asked 'how can you play in the townships?' And my response has always been, 'you don't know until you go there and experience it'."
"Also, as soon as a white boy shows any football ability, his parents are already looking at some form of overseas opportunity... which is why there are many white South African kids playing in American college leagues."
"It's clear that most white people have a particular mindset about soccer, that it is now a black sport, and that has contributed to white boys being lured from the sport."
Dearnaley's last point is one also highlighted by both Gordon Igesund and Roger de Sa.
Igesund, the Ajax coach, played for and coached numerous clubs in South Africa; De Sa played for Wits University, has one Bafana cap and is now the coach of Santos.
"I think that white parents have consciously steered their kids away from soccer and opted to allow them to play cricket, rugby or swimming," said Igesund. "Anything else but soccer appears to be their attitude.
"If I think back to when I was playing, there were lots and lots of white footballers. Now think about it: they all have had kids. Where are their children? Why aren't they following in daddy's footsteps and playing soccer? Whatever their reasons are - and I can't speak for them - whites appear to have lost interest in soccer."
And here De Sa connected the problem to schools.
"The schools play a major role in that they do not offer soccer as a sport and often boys are virtually forced into rugby or cricket.
"But I guess it's difficult in today's society. In the past, because of the lack of soccer at schools, we all joined football clubs. We used to walk or cycle to training and games. Today parents are too scared to send their children alone onto the roads. Kids aren't given the freedom they had in the past.
"In this way, many white boys interested in the sport have fallen by the wayside."
Essentially, though, Dearnaley, Igesund and De Sa are quite happy to see 23 South African footballers representing the country in Egypt.
"There are just so many talented players in this country that colour doesn't play a role," said Igesund. "Everybody wants to win. As a coach, I certainly want to. So the best players get picked, colour doesn't ever enter the equation."
That may be so - but there's no doubt there is extra pressure on the white player in the way that there is added pressure on the black player in rugby and cricket.
And over the past 10 years as a number of traditionally black clubs have been winning promotion to the Premier League - like Black Leopards, Golden Arrows, Dynamos, Free State Stars, Bloemfontein Celtic, Classic, Silver Stars and others - it has been all that more difficult for white players to break through.
With these clubs having a massive black support, every mistake by a white player is pounced upon. While the club may believe in any white player it signs, it is always under pressure from fans. In this way, a white footballer, it seems, has to be twice as good to win over the supporters (in the way that black cricketers and rugby players have to be twice as good to win over the predominantly white fan base of those sports).
But John Comitis, the chief executive of Ajax, who turned out for Cape Town Spurs and Hellenic during his playing days, is determined to ensure that white footballers do not become extinct.
"At Ajax, we are aware of the decline of white players, which is why in our junior teams we insist that we have three to four white players," said Comitis. "We regularly scout in areas like Edgemead, Vasco and Bothasig to ensure that we do not lose talented white players.
"In this country, if we do it properly, we are blessed with being able to field superb teams of a mixed cultural and racial heritage. Every culture brings a different approach, a different strength to the sport, and that can only make for a better team.
"Go and look at the composition of the Bafana team that won the Cup of Nations in 1996 and look at the magnificent blend of culture and talent we were able to field, a team that was eventually crowned the champions of Africa."
Comitis, too, is adamant that the dearth of white players is because of the parents and the schools.
"White South Africa does not see football inside the country as a viable career for their children," said Comitis. "But they do view soccer overseas as more suitable for their kids.
"Also, the schools have a more prominent and influential role to play. For example, if leading schools like Bishops and Rondebosch lead the way by bringing soccer into their sports curriculum, it could go a long way to stimulating white interest.
"And what about the government? With 2010 in the offing, why do they not make it compulsory for all schools to include soccer as a sport? In this way it will kickstart a whole new attitude towards the sport of soccer."
For Comitis, the future of the white footballer is something that is close to his heart and always on his and his club's agenda: "As a professional football club, we at Ajax are not only beholden to black South Africa, we are committed to all South Africans."