Please, Bafana, play like African champions

On Tuesday Bafana Bafana will begin their Africa Cup of Nations challenge to become champions of the continent. Those standing in their way include defending champions Senegal, seven-time victors Egypt and five-time winners Cameroon. Bafana’s first task at the tournament in Ivory Coast will be to emerge as one of the top two teams in group E.

Their assignment gets under way with a match against Mali, followed by a clash with neighbours Namibia and a final group game against Tunisia, the opponents Bafana defeated on home soil in the 1996 final to claim their solitary Afcon title.

Given this draw, going through to the knockout stages of the competition is not an insurmountable obstacle. From there on anything is possible.

Many South Africans have given up hope for Bafana, and understandably so. The team has a long record of disappointing fans, often failing to qualify for major tournaments such as Afcon and the World Cup.

Head coach Hugo Broos knows the ropes of the Afcon tournament, as the Belgian mentor showed when he led Cameroon to glory in the 2017 edition hosted in Gabon.

He has moulded a team that on their best day can play with conviction against the big guns, but they often look pedestrian when facing lesser lights.

The competition also serves as window shopping for talent spotters; a chance for South African players to join the top leagues, where so far they have a pitiful presence.

We hope Bafana will show their best face in West Africa and produce a performance the nation can be proud of. The Springboks signed off last year in sensational style with heart-stopping, single-point knockout victories to grab the Webb Ellis trophy for a historic fourth time. The Proteas threatened to make us double world champions, but fell at the semifinal hurdle in India.

To restore their fans’ long-lost faith, Bafana will have to pull off a showing that restores them to the top ranks of African football.