Like a fighter jet painting the sky with bright colours in an air show, sports minister Gayton McKenzie has displayed his mandate and threat for the South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan for all to see as he makes bold demands for Bafana Bafana.
The South African football national team has been the worst performing among what is perceived to be the top three sporting codes in the country, rugby, football and cricket.
The Springboks are the flag bearers as they claimed back-to-back World Cups in 2019 and 2023, while also lifting the Freedom Cup this month for the first time since 2009.
On the other hand, the Proteas – who carry the tag of ‘chockers’ as they usually stutter when it matters the most – were close to dumping that failure stigma in the last of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup edition but they succumbed to India in the final.
However, ‘chockers’ as they may be – the Proteas are a constant feature at World Cups, unlike Bafana Bafana, who last featured in 2010. That too, was on virtue of being hosts.
Bafana Bafana, loosely translated to ‘the boys’, have indeed been separated from the men in the way of African representation in the FIFA World Cup.
South Africa have missed the last three editions. However, it is not all doom and gloom as Bafana have seemingly restored their dignity in the motherland after winning a fourth AFCON medal in the 2023 edition where they claimed bronze in Ivory Coast.
Before this year’s showpiece, Bafana had failed to qualify for the 2010, 2012, 2017 and 2021 editions.
McKenzie, who heads the South African government’s sports, arts and culture department, has demanded that Bafana qualify for next year’s AFCON and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, or else there will be dire consequences.
"I don't have full confidence (in SAFA). I have full confidence with the rugby at the moment because full confidence can't come with talk."
“It comes with results and I have full confidence in the rugby because the results are there for us to see. The results are not there with the soccer,” said McKenzie.
“I am not a man who gets overpowered and impressed with words – I like action. I am the ultimate accounting authority when it comes to sports and football in this country. I told Danny Jordan and SAFA: I gave them two deliverables – I said to them ‘qualify for the FIFA World Cup, qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations’.
“I am giving them all the support now, but I can’t be giving people support until kingdom come. A country like ours must qualify for the World Cup and the AFCON – those things are not even difficult. Countries like Burkina Faso don’t have our type of money in sport. We are the most funded league on the African continent.
“How come we can’t win the AFCON and how come we can’t qualify for the World Cup? We cannot accept mediocrity. I am going to make sure I am public about it and they know about it. For now, they have my support, but soon – if they don’t qualify, we must get people who will qualify. This is a national asset that we are talking about,” he concluded.
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