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Given the state of sport in our country, must we continue to wish Bafana Bafana – or any of our national teams – good luck ahead of their respective international competitions?
Bafana Bafana have been a perennial disappointment for the longest period on the international front.
And, as we speak, their performance at the Cosafa Cup that culminated yesterday with the final between Botswana and Zambia, has been dismal to say the least.
For the hosts to be held to draws in their two successive opening matches – which resulted in them being bundled out by Botswana via penalties – and then scrape through via a penalty shoot-out in a plate play-off against Uganda, comes nowhere near to inspiring awe.
If what master Stuart Baxter and his technical team told us is anything to go by – that this tournament would be used as part of their preparations for the upcoming Afcon, with the hope of roping in some of the participants in the final squad – then we are in for a rude awakening.
Not that there is still anyone who crosses their fingers when Bafana Bafana go out to play, but, as bona fide South Africans, we have no option but to support them; we are bound to them by birth and blood.
And while the nation was still scratching it’s head wondering what had just happened, Baxter saw it fit to drop a bombshell and tell everyone who would listen that his team was ill-prepared for the Afcon, which starts in a fortnight.
What he revealed this week about the lack of friendly matches ahead of the tournament – that runs from June 21 to July 19 in Egypt – sounded like a hollow cop-out.
Most coaches would be pumping up their players and driving up the nation’s hopes and confidence.
Not Baxter.
His utterances this week were those of a man telling us not to blame him, but look to Safa when we fail at the tournament.
He totally forgot that the four fingers were pointing back at him.
There are some pertinent questions for Baxter – who will announce his final squad of 23 today – to answer.
They are: After qualifying for the Afcon final, did you give Safa a detailed preparation plan that included the countries you wished to play friendlies against, dates thereof, camp venues and a list of people you would like to rope into your technical team?
If the answers to all these questions is yes, what was Safa’s response? Did they promise but fail to deliver?
For someone to come out and fulminate against the lack of preparation just a fortnight before the tournament kicks off, without giving us details, is just not on.
In my view, here is how Bafana Bafana’s fortunes can be turned around going forward:
. A powerful Safa leadership must be elected – from the president, executive committee and sub-committees made up of people who have one common interest and a single goal to see the sport prosper;
. This leadership must employ a highly skilled and suitable chief executive who will lead a slim, well-qualified administration – no baasskap or doing favours;
. Appoint a suitable national coach who has been highly successful at international level. Someone in the mould of Frenchman Hervé Renard, who has won the Afcon with Zambia and Ivory Coast;
. Inculcate a winning mentality in the players. Set high goals for the coach, starting with winning the Cosafa Cup and reaching at least the semifinals at Afcon. Qualifying for Afcon and the World Cup should not be negotiable;
. Streamline football development in such a way that all academies churn out players good enough to play in top European leagues; and
. Improve the standard of PSL football as this league supplies the majority of players to Bafana Bafana.
With these in place, the senior men’s national team will have no place to hide and will be among the best on the continent.
Two of the most common denominators in countries that are successful in global football are a strong domestic league coupled with the ability to supply top players to big clubs in the top European leagues.
Without these, Bafana Bafana are doomed and we will never graduate from wishing them good luck to saying congratulations, well done!
. Follow me on Twitter@Sbu_Mseleku
