WeeklySA_AdminHORIZON: What plan might head coach Broos hatch to ship-shape SA to winning ways?
By Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela
Lady luck recently smiled on Bafana Bafana, as did the hand of fate – that unseen force controlling human events – to propel the squad to dizzy heights of World Cup stardom.
Until their emphatic 3-0 victory against Rwanda, it remained touch-and-go if the South Africa squad would make it to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the US, Mexico and Canada.
This was because the dice in a game of chance seemed heavily loaded against Bafana Bafana making it to the firmaments of the world football stage.
Beset by a variety of administrative challenges and embarrassing boobs, if the same hand of fate remains as faithful as it has done for them until now, who knows, the Hugo Broos’ national outfit might just snatch the big prize, and be crowned the 2026 Fifa World Cup champions.
There is no question, the national squad, in their mission to reach football glory, will be pitted against some of the best squads and talented players spread in various parts of the world.
Could it be that I am running ahead of myself, making this somewhat ridiculous prediction, dreaming of Bafana Bafana making it to the final post of the most prestigious football spectacle in the world?
What has luck, and the hand of fate, to do with it all, when the country’s ensemble is pitted against the best in the world?
Against all odds of having to face tough-as-nails Nigeria, Bafana fought hard to clinch a hard-fought 1–1 that saw them stay on top of Group C in the World Cup qualifiers.
What kind of wacky thinking is this?
Am I being seized, captured, by strange thoughts of irrationality and voodoo logic?
Could the hand of fate be on the side of Bafana Bafana when the South African squad travel to the US, Mexico, and Canada, next year to seek world glory?
When Bafana Bafana was docked three points for fielding an ineligible player, the dire situation narrowed down the chances of qualifying for a place in the world stage.
Would fate rescue Bafana Bafana, and the ignominy of being booted out in the World Cup qualifiers? En route to qualifying for the World Cup games, Bafana Bafana beat Lesotho 2-0.
With one foot in the door of world glory after this victory, South Africa appeared to buckle. The Lesotho victory would be annulled by an irrational decision by the squad management and Safa to field an ineligible player who had accumulated two yellow card bookings.
And, then came the horrific goalless draw against Zimbabwe, somewhat dimming any hope of progress to play in the World Cup series.
As South Africa engaged in the last qualifying game against Rwanda, the country’s partisan followers were on tenterhooks, hoping that the hand of fate would rescue the squad from defeat, an outcome which would have ruled them out of the world stage appearance.
The troubling question is: Why did Safa’s officials miss such an important detail?
Was that sloppiness?
Teboho Mokoena’s saga remains a troubling saga, and a bad reflection on Safa’s ability to deal meticulously with details that matter. Why did head coach, Hugo Broos, and assistant coach, Helman Mkhalele, and everyone else at Bafana Bafana and Safa, including head of the association, Danny Jordaan, field an ineligible player?
Surely, the leadership at Safa should have known that Mokoena, with two yellow bookings against his name, was ineligible, and did not deserve to be in the field of play against Lesotho.
Jordaan has not endeared himself to South Africans for his laissez-faire approach to the yellow-card saga.
Sports, Arts, and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, talking to the media recently, said Safa must give full account, and lodge a report with his office to explain an inexcusable act tantamount to dereliction of duty. The nation also requires answers and accountability from Safa.
Jordaan is wrong to suggest that the “yellow card” debacle would no longer be a matter that requires probing or interrogation, and should instead be regarded as something “in the past”.
That aside, the country is happy for Bafana Bafana breaking the 16-year long hiatus in top-class world football activity.
But the state of governance at Safa raises some serious concerns, with public trust having been eroded, with leadership at the entity facing the law, and multiple criminal allegations of fraud, theft, and conspiracy and misappropriation of the organisation resources. In the midst of this dark cloud, football lovers are confident that Bafana Bafana has enough ammunition to stand their ground against the best in the world.
With little luck and great effort, who knows, the bacon may land home, hand of fate permitting.
