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Bafana Bafana’s preparation for Saturday’s opening 2018 World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso was dealt yet another blow yesterday when a swarm of bees denied them access to their training field.
This came against the backdrop of key player Tokelo Rantie’s no-show, which resulted in him being dropped from the team.
The national side were meant to have their second training session at 4.30pm (6.30pm SA time) but could not even get off the bus because there was a beehive near the field where they were supposed to conduct their training. Bees swarmed out of the hive after someone kicked a pole in which they were hiding.
The team lost about an hour of training because they were trying to secure another venue nearby.
They arrived, only to find it had an artificial turf and decided against using it because the game would be played on grass.
When they finally arrived at a suitable venue it was almost dark and they had to settle for about 30 minutes of training, which was not sufficient, particularly after spending two days of possible training time on travelling.
Bafana had one proper training session since their arrival in Burkina Faso, albeit on an artificial turf, on Wednesday, a few hours after they arrived in the country. It was not an ideal training venue because many locusts were attracted by the floodlights.
The team will have a walkabout at the Stade du 4 Août this evening, just to feel the condition of the pitch before Saturday’s game.
