#EditorsNote : Nigeria may have more supporters on Saturday than Bafana Bafana
|Published
Phathisani Moyo Phathisani Moyo
What has happened to Bafana Bafana? Supporters are not the only ones that appear to have dumped the national football team in arguably its greatest hour of need.
The SABC have followed the great trek out of Safa House led by sponsors, and if no last-minute deal is struck, Saturday’s match against Nigeria will not be broadcast. To add insult to injury, fewer than 10000 fans bought tickets yesterday for the game against the Super Eagles at the 94736-seater FNB stadium. I fear Nigeria may have more supporters on Saturday than Bafana.
It is a painful fall from grace for a team that nurtured my love for the beautiful game.
My dream growing up fluctuated between being a pilot and the next Doctor Khumalo, depending on whether I was in class or out on the soccer field.
Although I am still a staunch Orlando Pirates fan, it was impossible to be a soccer-loving kid in the 90s and not want to be Doctor Khumalo during those lively street football matches. We spent practically the whole day playing street football in the township. Life was fun.
The influence of Khumalo and that gifted class of the 80s and 90s went beyond the South African borders.
There would sometimes be a heated argument before our little matches if someone else insisted on “being” Doctor before me.
In any case, this was the golden era of South African football, and there were plenty of heroes to choose from. Those days are now a distant memory, especially of the 1996 squad, captained by Neil “Mkhukhu” Tovey and coached by Clive “The Dog” Barker.
The team was brimming with talent and every kid I knew could name the whole line-up. Household names stretched right from goalkeeper Andre Arendse to Sizwe Motaung, Tovey, Lucas Radebe, Eric Tinkler, hard-tackling Linda Buthelezi, Doctor Khumalo, John “Shoes” Moshoeu, Phil Masinga and Shaun Bartlet.
Tickets to watch Bafana Bafana sold like hot cakes and every home was filled to capacity. Sponsors were also falling over themselves for a slice of the Bafana brand of winning football.
Bafana Bafana not only played in international tournaments hosted at home, but beat the best in Africa to qualify for the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations.
Tovey and his bunch of winners were crowned the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations champions and helped popularise the “Madiba Magic” mantra. Who can forget that iconic photo of Madiba hoisting the Afcon trophy, just four years after the end of the country’s international sporting isolation.
Fast forward to today. This all seems like a distant memory.
Safa is living from hand to mouth and fans would rather hear the results from the rumour mill than go to the stadium and endure a painful Bafana performance.
The devastating effect of the 0-0 draw against part-timers Seychelles last month is quite evident in the poor ticket sales.
The SABC has already said they cannot pay more than the R10million offer rejected by Safa for Bafana games. The cash-strapped national broadcaster argues that it has been beaming the games at a loss and can no longer afford it. I personally do not agree with the SABC management because national interest should trump number crunching.
Still, the onus is on Safa to come up with innovative ways of attracting fans to the stadiums. This team needs to play their way back into the hearts of the people.
Bafana Bafana must hold more school workshops and meet-and-greet sessions with fans ahead of matches. It is shocking that there is no hype for such a crucial game. Maybe they should open the gates and let fans in for free on Saturday.
Phathisani Moyo is news editor at The Star