The supporter’s printed-out poster, “Thank you Safa”, said a lot. The story behind it did too.
There are two supporters’ associations in the country. One is the South African National Supporters (Sanasu), which was formed under the auspices of the SA Football Association (Safa). The older National Football Supporters Association (Nafsa) has been critical of Safa, seems to genuinely fight for fans’ rights, and has battled to be sanctioned by the ruling body. The bodies have been at odds.
When Bafana Bafana arrived back from a heroic 2-1 Africa Cup of Nations Cup victory in Liberia, which saw them admirably qualify for next year’s tournament in Ivory Coast, a welcoming party did not seem completely necessary. Nations Cup qualifications have become rare for the national team but still should be the bare minimum requirement for a country with South Africa’s resources.
Of course, a handful of fans were at the airport, including Sanasu president Saddam Maake and secretary-general Joy “Mama Joy” Chauke, and no doubt a smattering of their members. Commenters on social media labelled it a rent-a-crowd, and the cynical might have wondered if the sign thanking Safa held by legendary Kaizer Chiefs fan Maake was printed at the association’s offices.
These fans’ passion for the game — in Maake’s case one that has credibility that goes back decades — should not be diminished by their allegiance to Safa. They have had tough lives, and one cannot begrudge them what small perks that can be gained. It’s Safa’s cynicism in hijacking them that could be begrudged.
So could the association’s efforts, soon after the paint has dried on Bafana’s qualification, to take a victory lap.
There are two reasons they should not.
The association’s lack of ambition is shown by the new Vision 2030 it launched this year, which revises the targets from the previous Vision 2022, of a top three ranking in Africa and top 20 in the world, top 10 in Africa and top 50 in the world.
The first is that Bafana reached the Nations Cup despite Safa’s appalling lack of development that has resulted in two decades of woeful underachievement from the men’s national team.
During Covid-19, to balance the books, Safa cut staff, and many of these — including 18 provincial technical officers who oversaw development in the nine provinces — were from the football development side of the association. And Safa’s development structures were already woeful.
After president Danny Jordaan’s re-election last year in a dirty battle with Ria Ledwaba, reports were Safa staff were battling proposals for further retrenchments. This after pre-election Safa expanded the expensive national executive committee from 34 to 44 members, which Jordaan’s opponents claimed was an electioneering strategy.
Yet the association says it cannot afford full-time junior national team coaches, which seemed to play a role in the South Africa’s failure to reach the Under-23 Nations Cup on the weekend, and consequently the 2024 Paris Olympics, a dampener on Bafana’s success.
The second reason Safa cannot take a victory lap is qualification to a Nations Cup should be the standard, and long-suffering Bafana supporters deserve more and yearn for a team that can compete for the trophy.
The association’s lack of ambition is shown by the new Vision 2030 it launched this year, which revises the targets from the previous Vision 2022, of a top three ranking in Africa and top 20 in the world, to top 10 in Africa and top 50 in the world. Bafana are ranked 11th on the continent now, so need to move up one place to reach the target.
Bafana’s Nations Cup group was reduced to three teams by Fifa’s expulsion of Zimbabwe, meaning the South Africans needed four points against 150th-ranked Liberia to qualify, which they still made hard for themselves drawing at home to the Lone Stars.
If Safa take a victory lap for that, they will reinforce their lack of ambition and lack of regard that, while it is a worthy achievement, South Africans deserve much more and better.
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