OPINION | Fans' passion in Qatar holds lessons for bungling Bafana

On Saturday I was privileged to be among the 88,966 people who packed Lusail Stadium in Doha to witness the feisty Fifa World Cup group stage win for Argentina over Mexico.

It was a crunch match for the bitter Latin American rivals, one in which Lionel Messi produced a masterclass as La Albiceleste put their World Cup campaign back on track after a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in front of a vociferous crowd.

A quality game made possible by top-quality players who play for top clubs worldwide was enhanced by the unbelievable atmosphere created by passionate fans.

Long before the match started throngs of Argentinian and Mexican supporters outside the stadium formed a snaking queue as they went through ticket-verification procedures.

They created an electrifying mood with songs and drums and as they went about their business, a question crossed my mind: will Bafana Bafana ever again elicit that type of emotion from South Africans?

I asked myself if I would ever see hundreds of people in long queues making their way into Johannesburg's FNB Stadium or any other ground to watch Bafana against top opposition in a crucial Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) or Fifa World Cup qualifier.

I asked myself if I would ever be part of throngs of South African supporters in a foreign country cheering the team on ahead of a crunch match and against top opposition at a Fifa World Cup match.

I was left wondering all these things because South Africa have not qualified for the World Cup in 20 years. They missed Germany in 2006, Brazil in 2014, Russia in 2018 and the tournament now under way in Qatar.

They played in the 2010 edition because South Africa hosted the event, embarrassing themselves and the nation by becoming the first host country to fail to advance to the knockout stages.

With this background of utter underachievement over two decades, I also asked myself if this country would ever produce quality players who command regular playing time at clubs and in the world's top leagues.

Bafana failed spectacularly to make it to Afcon last year, with two teams in the group qualifying, and it remains to be seen if they will qualify for the African showpiece in Ivory Coast next year.

Bafana are in second place in Group K, which has been reduced to three teams due to the expulsion of Zimbabwe, having lost their opening match to Morocco away and remaining with back-to-back clashes against unpredictable Liberia, then the Atlas Lions at home.

Recently, former Bafana striker Shaun Bartlett told me the reason the senior national team is struggling is because South Africa doesn’t have players at top leagues in Europe.

He said when Bafana won the Cup of Nations in 1996, a significant majority of players, among them him, Lucas Radebe and the late John Moshoeu and Philemon Masinga played regularly in Europe.

Bafana are ranked 67th in the world by Fifa and 12th on the continent, a far cry from the days when Mark Fish, Radebe, Moshoeu, Masinga and Bartlett put the team among the best in Africa and top 30 in the world.

That Bafana struggle to draw decent crowds now is a clear indication of the level of apathy surrounding a team that has consistently failed to perform acceptably for many years.

The new generation of players are not good enough to consistently compete with the best on the continent and in the world, and there is a feeling among disgruntled fans that they are unlikely to win the Cup of Nations.

Bartlett added that the current crop of players needs to look in the mirror and introspect, indicating that they don't have a tough enough mindset to move to and stay at clubs in Europe.

On that warm night in Doha this past weekend, as I marvelled at those Argentinians intoxicated with happiness outside Lusail Stadium after their win, I wished it was South Africans celebrating a Bafana victory at the World Cup.

A wish is a wish, but the reality is that Bafana are nowhere near being African or world beaters and there must be a serious turnaround of results before they win the minds and hearts of the public again.