I
didn’t realize how embarrassing it is that Bafana Bafana didn’t qualify for
this year’s African Cup of Nations until the tournament kicked off. Laughing at
the fiasco with our boys dancing after thinking they had qualified coupled with
hiding behind the cool kids, read as Cameroon and Nigeria, also not qualifying;
kinda numbed me to it all.
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| "Ayeye! Siyaya eGabon"... Errr not! |
But
reality had to set in and when my senses came back to me, the penny dropped.
South Africans like to claim that their national side is a giant in African
football. The sad truth is that it is not. The last time Bafana Bafana made it
out of the group stage of the tournament was in 2002 when team was eliminated
in the quarter finals and has now failed to qualify for 2 consecutive AFCON
tournaments and in their last outing at the tournament in 2008 they did not
manage to score a single goal; all of which doesn’t merit them the recognition
of being named in the same breath as Egypt, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and others.
Those
who govern the game in SA should hang their heads in shame. No disrespect to
Botswana, but they have part timers kicking the ball around for their national
team and they qualified quite comfortably. I am certain that South Africa has
more money invested in football than Mali, Guinea, Zambia and most other
nations that participated in African football’s premier event. With that in
mind, Bafana Bafana fans should fully expect their team to qualify and excel at
every AFCON tournament. No South African should be content with the excuse that
preparation for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers takes precedence. There is no
better preparation than qualifying for a major tournament and testing yourself
against the game’s supreme teams on the continent in competitive fixtures.
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| Nobody ever wants to see this again. |
That
our boys were selected to play warm-up games against 3 of the nations that
qualified is insulting quite frankly. It confirms that our boys aren’t good
enough. While it is true, it is still offensive, like being told you’re okay
enough to kiss and fondle in the dark but not good enough to take out on a date
in public.
The
mindset of South African fans needs to change. Qualifying for tournament every
now and then is not okay. Drawing games is not good enough and never has been.
Sterling performances and victories from our national team should be expected
in every game they play. A-grade performances should be the norm. Allowing
anything less than excellence is mediocrity, the height of which has you doing
the Bokke jive all around the Mbombela Stadium after failing to qualify for the
AFCON.
