Sports Sermon
Opinion
While the Springboks zig-zagged the country parading the World Cup trophy, one could not help it but to spare a thought for poor Bafana Bafana, Mzansi’s all-time perennial underachievers.
The SA rugby national team conquered the world for the second successive time when they defended the Web Ellis trophy they brought home from Tokyo, Japan, in the 2019 tournament.
The Springboks convoy of buses started its expedition in Tshwane, before snaking its way through the tumble-down and ramshackle of Jozi CBD, to Soweto, the most famous township in the country. The buses finally screeched to a halt at the FNB Stadium, the home of Bafana, to wrap up the Johannesburg lap of the trophy tour.
As the muscular, celebrating Springboks disembarked, relieving the bus of its mass, and entered the stadium – a sharp contrast was conspicuous.
The Springboks, who briefly took over Soccer City, are a successful, world conquering
entity in almost all departments and directions.
They got the whole South Africa in a twirl of emotions when they steam-rolled past their opponents in the World Cup, almost giving millions heart attacks in the process.
It was not achieved through flair and pretty wins – but each victory was gained with blood and sweat on the floor, literally speaking. From the backroom staff, the administrators, the technical ensemble, the millions of supporters and most especially the warriors on the field, everyone pulled together.
Sadly, the same cannot be said of Bafana, who last got through to a Fifa World Cup via qualification route 21 years ago, in 2002. Yes, they did play in the 2010 spectacle on home soil, but this was because they qualified by virtue of being hosts.
Unlike the SA Rugby Union, the South African Football Association (Safa) is in tatters. They are broke – sponsors do not want to touch them. They have fossils and deadwood when it comes to leadership. The office bearers are not in touch with modern ways of football. That is why Bafana did not qualify for the 2021 Afcon in Cameroon and for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
Football in the country is in a state of decay. The word development is just a fancy word used by those who intend to swindle unsuspecting victims. The little development that is done is haphazard and chaotic, with everyone shooting in the dark.
The fight for regions and positions is frightening – top-notch bodyguards and high security are brought to the fore when Safa presidential elections are in town – at what cost, one may ask. Safa and the PSL, the professional body of SA football, are like warring siblings, always at each other’s throats and never reading from the same football page, while football is suffering.
Granted, and we accept the fact that a soccer World Cup is much more difficult than a Rugby one. Rugby is an elitist sport played by a few countries, mostly from the first world nations. Their World Cup is contested by a mere 20 teams as compared to football, where more than 200 countries must slug it out for the honours. In Africa, 54 countries have had to fight for the five World Cup slots, making it extremely difficult to qualify.
It is fair to understand Bafana cannot ever win the World Cup but we ask the leaders to come up with a long-term turnaround strategy. We do not care about who is in charge. We just want people who can end the embarrassment and take Bafana back to their glory days. The Springboks victory has left us in awe, and we are salivating, in envy.
