Bafana redeemed
Bafana Bafana for almost a decade have been a target of our derision and frustration because they just could not get it right.
Many of us had divorced ourselves from the team because it broke our hearts, more often than not.
We just did not seem to have a solution to arrest the alarming slide since the heydays of the mid ‘90s and early 2000s.
During that time, winning and qualifying for major tournaments was a given and overall our soccer was in very good nick, even though there was not as much money then as we have now in our professional league.
During those days, we had a contingent of players who played in the top European leagues who came back and were combined with talented local players, and we produced magic.
We have long been subjected to mediocrity and directionless since, until this year.
I remember on two occasions we qualified for Afcon and came back after the first round, and in one of them without winning or even scoring a single goal.
The other time we failed to qualify because the coaches failed to read the rules correctly.
We missed qualifying for Afcon on many other occasions and practically became minnows when it came to continental football, quite rightly so too.
Things began to change for the better and we can now proudly support the team without fear that it will embarrass and disappoint us.
Yes, we lost to Nigeria on Wednesday and we will not be involved in the showpiece event on Sunday but we have won on so many other fronts.
On social media, when commenting on any rugby story, people always retort “we don’t want to be another Bafana Bafana” whenever the transformation argument is raised. They say “look at Bafana, do you want the rugby team to be like them?”
That stung a lot because you had no comeback because the team was performing badly, while many of the other national teams were doing well in world cups.
With this performance, that has changed and we can now begin to dream of world cup qualifications and winning Afcon once again.
We thank Hugo Broos and his management for making us proud of our beloved Bafana Bafana.
However, there is so much to do to improve our football, in general. I know what is wrong but I dare not say much about it.
All I can say is we need everyone involved in football development in all spheres and we need to root out the negative tendencies that have stifled our development from grassroots to the professional level. We must have no room for personal agendas because this is our national sport and it belongs to everyone.
No development can succeed without adequate facilities and qualified coaches. Municipalities need to play ball and provide the people with facilities since they are under their care.
Sport people need to raise their voice in this election, politicians must stop paying lip service to sport development. Use your vote to agitate for change.