Bafana looking to win over fans
After an exhausting journey from Abidjan in Ivory Coast, Bafana Bafana players and head coach Hugo Broos still had some energy to engage with all and sundry when they landed at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Bafana arrived amid wild celebrations after their unexpected exploits at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations where they finished third behind champions and hosts Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
Speaking to the media after a ceremony that saw all the players having an opportunity to greet the fans that gathered at the airport, Bafana skipper Ronwen Williams insisted that the spirit of ubuntu carried the team all the way in Ivory Coast, especially after they lost their opening match.
“It still feels unreal what we’ve achieved,” said the Mamelodi Sundowns gloveman.
“Over the last few weeks we’ve seen all the messages and all the records that we’ve broken as a team and because you’re in the moment and you’re thinking about the next game you don’t look for praise or go on about these things. You just want to do well in the next game.
“I’m just proud of the boys for the brotherhood we had from day one. You know the spirit of ubuntu among us has been good and I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve been successful. It’s the spirit of the group, the togetherness. It’s been amazing to see.”
Williams is confident the performance Bafana dished up in Ivory Coast will bring the fans back to Bafana matches, something the team has struggled with since the country hosted the Fifa World Cup in 2010.
“The coach emphasised it well that the support will come with the performance,” said Williams. “For years, we’ve done well but it was in patches. But in the past two years we’ve only lost three* games. So, there was some sort of good work the coach was doing and there’s a lot of positives. But the support was still not there and it had to take something special to have the people back.
“I’m happy that we’ve managed to do that. We can’t do it on our own, we need everyone. We appreciate the support and long may that continue.”