Something is not right!

With the FIFA International break, we’ve decided to do things a bit different this week. Don’t be alarmed by the old column template because we will be back to our normal format from next week. We saw Bafana Bafana playing against Namibia on Saturday and DR Congo on Tuesday, respectively. I want to focus solely on the Namibia game because we played a country whose domestic league only starts this Saturday, which means we played a team some of whose players were still doing pre-season. They selected, mostly, locally-based players and a few who are plying their trade in the DStv Premiership and a couple of them from Europe. We are talking about a nation that didn’t have their domestic football league for the past two years, yet they are on the verge of qualifying for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire.

You look at our team that had overseas-based players as well as those who are playing here at home, whose teams have played more than five games so far. In football, the argument is not based on what happened outside but what happens on the field of play. At some stage, if I were to remind our readers, I analysed Bafana Bafana’s World Cup qualifier against Ghana, which was played away in Ghana. Coach Hugo Broos played 60% of the local players in that match, while the opposition had 100% of their overseas-based players on the field. Everyone knows what happened in that game and this goes to show why I said what happens off the field doesn’t matter as much as what happens on it. The outcome of the game is what people will always remember, but let’s look at what this game against Namibia provided for us. The line-up consisted of about 60% of non-regulars and everyone knows it ended in a goalless draw.

The game was for the coach and the technical team to see who was ready to raise their hands and stake a claim for a regular position in the team. Who would show they were capable of representing the country, and my experience tells me that players are not the same. Judging players, on just one game, is catastrophic. Yes, it is good to expect the players to deliver, but they need more time. We view the game differently because this is a game of opinions. I’m not taking anything away from coach Broos and his technical team, but looking at what happened, you have Lebo Mothiba who last played for the national team in 2019 under coach Stuart Baxter in Egypt. He’s only getting recalled to the set-up for these two matches and he’s not really played much. The stadium was empty! It looks like Bafana doesn’t exist in the minds of South African football supporters! What might be the cause of all this? There are certain things that I believe might be forcing people to stay away. Things like uttering words that are hurtful to the same people you want to come and watch our national team. You can’t go and attack Kaizer Chiefs in public and say their players don’t deserve to play for our team. You are taking 60% of the country away from Bafana and you wonder why there are no supporters! That team is the most-supported team in the country and SAFA need to guide the coach on certain things because there are things that he should only say to his technical team or even the SAFA hierarchy rather than going public. That was disrespectful to a team that has contributed immensely to South African football over the years! Personally, I feel that was the downfall, even though I can’t prove it. We may look at those utterances and think they are minor, but the damage they potentially caused is immense. We know how much people love Kaizer Chiefs and I’m not defending them because I’m their former player. There are also hundreds other reasons people didn’t go to the stadium, but until we wake up and smell the coffee, nothing is going to change in our attendance figures and we will never emulate the Class of ’96!

Ronwen Williams pleaded with people to come and support the squad because he couldn’t feel the relationship between the team and the supporters. He doesn’t hear people talking about Bafana playing but only hears people talk when Bafana lose. That is a bold statement and something that should not be taken lightly because it is indicative of the problems we are facing. It is a serious concern! Who would want to wear the national team jersey only to sing the national anthem in front of empty stands? I’ve been there, done it and felt what is it like to sing the national anthem proudly in front of a capacity crowd. I can only imagine how the current players are feeling. We didn’t see much against Namibia from our team and even their coach, Collin Benjamin, couldn’t believe he was playing against Bafana. He’s used to seeing our national team playing in front of packed stadiums. It was much better against DR Congo, but that was another embarrassment because the visiting team dominated us in the stands.

We need to give credit to the boys because they went out there and played, regardless of the negatives that accompanied their games. After the Namibia game, I saw visuals of Mozambique v Benin in the Afcon qualifier in Mozambique and it was chalk-ablock! Someone showed a video from Orlando in comparison to what was going on in Mozambique and it was unbelievable! Players from Mozambique are dying to play in South Africa, yet their country has far more supporters in the stands than us. Something is not right! On Sunday, we had Johannesburg Legends against their Tshwane counterparts and the way it was so packed, people were asking questions about the attendance compared to the Saturday game.