‘I did nothing, credit should go to Bafana Bafana,’ says McKenzie after backlash

Sport, art, and culture minister Gayton McKenzie has responded to the controversy surrounding his congratulatory message on Bafana Bafana's Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying victory after a backlash, emphasising he doesn't take credit for their success.

McKenzie initially stated the department would only continue supporting Bafana Bafana if they qualified for Afcon, after he had expressed earlier doubts about their ability to do so.

In September McKenzie said he did not have confidence in Bafana under the stewardship of the South African Football Association (Safa) and its president Danny Jordaan to excel. He said he had given a directive to Safa that Bafana need to qualify for Afcon and the World Cup.

“I don’t have full confidence. I’ve got full confidence in rugby at the moment,” McKenzie said then.

“I said to them [Safa]: ‘Qualify for the World Cup, qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.’ I’m giving them all the support now but I can’t be giving people support until kingdom come who are not performing.”

After the team's impressive performance, securing qualification with two games to spare and subsequently winning the matches against Uganda and South Sudan, McKenzie changed his tune.

“When I met Safa, I was clear that for our continued support we demand Bafana Bafana qualify for Afcon and the World Cup. I congratulate the leadership and players for jumping over the first hurdle, one more to go. I am proud. Our football is back, thank you,” he wrote on X.

However, McKenzie's congratulatory message was met with criticism, with many accusing him of taking credit for the team's hard work.

In response to the backlash, he clarified he did “absolutely nothing” to contribute to Bafana's victory and credit should go to the players.

“I did absolutely nothing except pass on the wishes of most soccer loving people to Safa. I am proud that Safa proved many wrong by qualifying. All credit should go to players, management, sponsors, technical team and most importantly the fans.”