Chan desperate for Bafana to get to the final
The standard of football that's been on show at the Africa Nations Championship (Chan) since the tournament kicked off last week has been the saving grace for a competition that was said to be doomed.
For ticket sales to pick up, local organising CEO Mvuso Mbebe admitted this week the organisers were desperate for Bafana to make it all the way to the final.
South Africa have their fate in their own hands, but an early exit from Chan tonight when they face Nigeria at the Cape Town Stadium is the last thing Mbebe and his crew need.
The CEO disclosed that only 56% of those with tickets to watch the tournament have been to the match venues, particularly in the Mother City where Bafana are based.
Tonight, Bafana need only a draw to progress to the quarterfinals, with a loss spelling disaster not only for national team coach Gordon Igesund but also for a tournament that's meant only for players based in their domestic leagues.
The final will be played at the Cape Town Stadium on February 1, but not many have bothered to embrace Chan in the other two host cities - Bloemfontein and Polokwane.
Mbebe said the concept of double-headers, which was the brainchild of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations organising committee in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, has not quite delivered.
"After five match days we had about 56606 people that had gone through the turnstiles, and that includes 23000 for the opening day. I am a perfectionist, but I think we are comfortable with that turnout. But saying we are comfortable does not mean we are happy.
"We have increased the number of tickets we will give away after the sports minister's request to hand out more free tickets.
"I was more worried about Bafana's game against Mali [on Wednesday], but to have 15000 people go through the turnstiles from the 21000 that were distributed means that is about two thirds of those we expected to come," said Mbebe.
He insisted that contrary to popular belief the Confederation of Africa Football (Caf), while giving the organising committee carte blanche, have been hands-on. Caf hosted their annual awards two days before the Chan kick-off. Many sceptics felt the tournament was not high on the governing body's list of priorities.
"That's not true," Mbebe said. "Caf has been with us since January 3 in Cape Town and all members have been here for critical meetings."
While he plans to make recommendations to tweak the double-header approach for future tournaments, Mbebe reckons the group stages so far have given South Africans, at least those who pitched to watch the games, value for money.
"It's been broadcast on Al Jazeera, Canal France and SuperSport. It's a good advert for SA.
"It's been argued that we can only host tournaments with international flair. We are showing that we can put our best foot forward in an exclusive African event without any help from America or Europe, for example.
"For a tournament of this nature to average two goals a game is actually a good thing, and I think we are going to see a pick-up in ticket sales, especially if Bafana are there with us all the way as hosts. They are the true hosts in fact - we are only the backroom boys," said Mbebe.