Safa leaves nothing to chance ahead of tricky away qualifier against Nigeria

25 May 2017 - 18:31 By Marc Strydom
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Stuart Baxter during the South African men's senior national squad announcement at SAFA House on May 25, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Stuart Baxter during the South African men's senior national squad announcement at SAFA House on May 25, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

With Nigeria known as one of the tougher away football venues in Africa‚ South African Football Association (Safa) officials have left nothing to chance for next month’s qualifier‚ sending Bafana Bafana team manager Barney Kujane to scout facilities on May 15.

Bafana meet Nigeria in Uyo in their opening 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on June 10.

The West African superpower does not generally present teams trouble in terms of facilities‚ but the home of the fearsome Super Eagles can be an intimidating den to enter.

  • Jordaan claims Baxter is either earning same or less than Mashaba's R583,333 monthly salary South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan has disputed reports that the new Bafana Bafana coach‚ Stuart Baxter‚ will be earning R1 million a month. 

Kujane found top-class hotels for Bafana to stay at.

He investigated the training facilities and match venue‚ the spanking new Godswill Akpabio International Stadium‚ reporting back to new Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter that both were excellent.

  • 'So is it a disaster if we lose (to Nigeria)? No. But we want to win,' says BaxterBafana Bafana will go to Nigeria with a positive mindset and trying to get a result‚ Stuart Baxter said of his imposing first assignment against South Africa's nemesis team the Super Eagles. 

“This is the first game in our Afcon qualifiers‚ so it requires the maximum support administratively‚” Kujane said on Thursday.

“I went to Nigeria to investigate the facilities‚ and I found them to be very conducive.

“The hotels we are staying in are very good. The training field and stadium are of a very high standard.

“We have tried to make all proper arrangements to enable the team to have an environment conducive to their needs.

  • Baxter reveals he called Serero to explain reasons behind his omission from Bafana squadStuart Baxter contacted Thulani Serero to inform the Ajax Amsterdam player that his lack of game time‚ and uncertainty over his next club destination‚ was the reason the midfield star was left out of the coach's first Bafana Bafana squad. 

“The team will come into camp on Thursday‚ June 1‚ in Fourways‚ training at Orlando Stadium.

“The squad will travel to Nigeria on (Safa travel sponsor) South Africa Airways. We intend leaving on June 7‚ flying for six hours to Nigeria‚ arriving at 10.20pm in Lagos. We overnight at the Sheraton Hotel.

“On June 8 at 11am we fly to Uyo‚ arriving at noon. From the airport to the Meridien Hotel is a one-hour drive.

  • Baxter's salary is 'no one's business'New Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter is either earning the same or less than his predecessor, Shakes Mashaba, SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan has intimated. 

“The team will train at a training field attached to the stadium. The training field and the pitch of the match venue are the same – very nice grass surfaces‚ the same type used in the 2010 World Cup in SA.

“Travelling from Meridien Hotel to the match venue is quite a distance – about 30 to 40 minutes.

"When we arrive on June 8‚ the coach has requested that we train in the afternoon. But we will manage this because we will always have a (police) escort to ensure we are not stuck in traffic.”

  • Five players who can commit a smash-and-grab burglary for Baxter in NigeriaBafana Bafana do not need to go to Nigeria trying to play for a win. 

Super-modern Godswill Akpabio Stadium‚ renamed from Akwa Ibom International Stadium soon after its completion in 2014‚ is a 30 000-seater ground styled on Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena.

Nigeria are ranked 40th on the Fifa rankings‚ and fifth in Africa.

The remainder of Bafana’s Group E matches will be completed next year.

SA play Libya at home in March 2018‚ then host home and away matches against Seychelles in September‚ host Nigeria in October and then travel to Libya for their final match in November.

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport

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