You can't be a somebody when you are a nobody

Think back to the time when Bafana Bafana returned from the African Nations Cup with zeros. Zero goals. Zero wins. Zero points. Zero confidence. Zero support.

Our chaps were so rubbish at the 2006 biennial event in Egypt they came agonisingly close to being renamed Bazero Bazero.

As far as horror movies go, that was it hands down, the lowest ebbs in the history of our senior national soccer side.

Take another walk down memory lane. This time let's go back to 1996. Ah, now those were the days that Bafana were at their zenith; when they were kings.

You may be getting tired of the walk, but work with me here for the last trip is a short one.

It dates back to January where we were bundled out of the first round of competition at the last edition of the African tourney.

All these trips have one thing in common: Bafana Bafana players.

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What's different is the pool from which a Bafana coach draws these players.

This is no ode to the soft science- fiction family film Honey I Shrunk the Kids but damn, the base from which a Bafana coach selects his squad has shrunk so much that the situation needs a village shrink.

In 1996, our domestic league of 18 teams was largely dominated by South African players.

Then Bafana coach Clive Barker was spoilt for choice and "The Dog" could choose from a pool of 200.

In 2015 that number has been cut by half as Danny Jordaan, the Safa mayor, I mean Nelson Mandela Bay president, argh you know that Ben 63 guy from Port Elizabeth, noted in a conversation with sports editors this week.

The other thing that needs to shrink is the mentality of superiority which many in our country harbour in relation to the rest of Africa.

That should start with how we view the so-called smaller opponents Bafana draw in competitions.

When we drew Ethiopia and Botswana and the Central African Republic for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, many didn't bat an eyelid to declare qualification as good as secured.

But we know what happened when we all watched Brazil 2014 on the telly.

It is in this context that events like the African Nations Championship (Chan), designed for national teams comprising players based in their domestic leagues, should be viewed.

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So today's quarterfinal fixture between Bafana and Botswana in the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) must be taken with great seriousness.

In a bid to broaden the selection base, Shakes Mashaba selected 14 players from the Premier Soccer League and the rest of the squad comes from the National First Division and the ABC Motsepe League.

That doesn't make this a B or Z squad. It is Bafana proper. This competition provides a platform for players to bang hard on the selection door for future Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers.

Players must not treat it as some off-season inconvenience that interferes with their holiday.

Not many players get a chance to play for their national team. Those who do get the call-up should seize the opportunity with both feet.

This is a chance for Moeketsi Sekola to prove that his winning the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot award was no fluke.

You can't dominate Africa when you are nothing in the region. You can't be somebody in the world when you are nobody in your continent. It is not his exact words, but this is the mantra of Mashaba. We should adopt it as our collective mantra as we move forward.

Twitter: @BBKUnplugged99