‘It makes me very sad’: CAF president Motsepe on Bafana’s continued failure to qualify for major tournaments

Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the last Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Cameroon and the Fifa World Cup in Qatar and CAF president Patrice Motsepe says this saddens him.

Bafana last qualified for the World Cup 20 years ago in Korea/Japan 2002 but played in the tournament on home soil in 2010 after qualifying as hosts and earned the tag of being the first hosts to be eliminated in the group stages.

When they qualified for Korea/Japan, 16 of the 23 players were playing for top clubs like Manchester United, Leeds United, Lokomotiv Moscow, FC Copenhagen, Porto, Ajax Amsterdam, Udinese, VfB Stuttgart and Heerenveen.

“I have a duty to the rest of the continent but I am a South African and I am grateful to this country because it has done for me what I am. It makes me very say because we should be there, we can be there and we will be there,” he said of the bungling Bafana who have become the laughing stock of the continent.

“This country has some of the most talented football players among boys and girls and sometimes the real progress and success is not talking and responding the way I am doing now.

“It is in private meetings and private discussions with the clear focus that South African football deserves to be among the best in the world and will be among the best in the world.”

Bafana spectacularly failed 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.

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