No place for a politician

In the hours after Bafana Bafana’s 2-0 loss to Mali on Tuesday, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa put out a video of himself standing in the South African dressing room, giving the team his post-match thoughts.

“Go forward, never lose hope, play as a team,” were among his pearls of wisdom, as well as a vow to drink a Castle Lager if South Africa make it to the knockout rounds.

I always find it puzzling when politicians, even sports ministers, choose to thrust themselves into a limelight in which I feel they have absolutely no place. This is the sanctity of a team dressing room, shortly after a demoralising Africa Cup of Nations defeat, and surely only the coaching staff should be speaking to the players?

I may be wrong, of course, maybe the players will say after a triumphant run through the group stages, that it was the thought of Kodwa downing a cold beer that provided the inspiration for wins over Namibia and Tunisia.

But I don’t think I am wrong and I’ll tell you who else I don’t think was impressed. In the same video, Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos is standing towards the back of the room, and for the whole of Kodwa’s speech he is staring at the floor, giving the impression of a man who would rather be anywhere else.

It will be interesting to see if the Bafana coach says anything in the coming days about Kodwa’s visit, after all he has always showed a willingness to speak his mind, making no secret of late about his problems with the Premier Soccer League and their refusal to end the season on Christmas Eve, to allow him more time to prepare.

In a recent interview with Het Laaste Nieuws, a Belgian newspaper, Broos frankly gave the impression that he has had enough of the Bafana job and all its politics.

Whether this was appropriate is open to debate, but having done fairly well with the team since taking over, one can also understand his frustration. And this Kodwa incident is unlikely to have improved his mood.