A PRE-AFCON TOURNEY WOULD BENEFIT BAFANA

A miniature tournament prior to the 2013 AFCON would have helped Bafana Bafana with preparations for the continental tournament and also boost its chances of being title contenders

To deviate from what is set to be a very idle December in anticipation of the 2013 African Cup of Nations, the South African Football Association (SAFA) should have beefed up its efforts of readying Bafana Bafana for the continental showpiece by organising a four-nation tournament.

The tournament, which could have mainly featured African opposition especially from the COSAFA region, would have served as adequate preparation for the national team and would have also granted the national team head coach, Gordon Igesund, ample time to assemble a good competitive squad.

As the situation now stands and prevails, Igesund does not even have a squad for the AFCON tournament. He was starved of the ample time needed to assemble a proper squad ahead of the tournament and many football commentators have repeatedly attested to that.

The steep mandate set for him by SAFA is totally not feasible and I say this not pessimistically but in a more realistic tone. Bafana Bafana’s last match was against Zambia two weeks ago and the team’s next fixture is against Norway in Cape Town on January 8, and then Algeria on the January.

The opening fixture against Cape Verde is exactly six days after the match against the Algerians. The four nation tournament would have countered the imminence of an inactive month, prior to the tournament and passably fit into the December schedule; provided that Igesund utilises domestic players.

Many overseas based players are too tied up with their club responsibilities. Players like Dean Furman have already made it public that the Bafana Bafana call-ups are affecting his performance at his current club; so why not save him the trouble? Players like Ricardo Nunes are struggling to adjust to South African general style of play and it is a tad bit too late for orientation lessons.

The first half of the current 2012/2013 season will conclude on the December 19 and many local players are raring for an opportunity to showcase their capabilities in the national setup. Hosting a four-nation tournament would have benefited many of these players and would have also sufficiently supplemented Igesund’s preparations for the AFCON perfectly.

With the exception of Angola and Zambia who will be competing in the AFCON tournament; other countries such as Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique are available to play in some friendly competition.

It is quite disturbing that no match will be played in December by Bafana between then and the end of the year.
This will ultimately sabotage Igesund’s prospects of doing well in the African championship tournament.