Bafana Bafana should be competing for first prize in the Africa Cup of Nations regularly, prominent football agent Mohammed Lawal believes.
The 1996 champions fought gallantly in Ivory Coast and only to be denied of a place in the final by Nigeria via penalty shootouts in their semi-final match on Wednesday.
As a result, Bafana will be competing for a third place finish with the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Saturday before returning home.
Hugo Broos, who has been lauded for the team's improvement, has hinted on his keenness to continue with the team.
Lawal, who is a South African-based Nigerian agent, believes that Mzansi has all the tools to conquer Africa.
The Good
"Talking about the performance of Bafana Bafana at the Africa Cup of Nations, I see that everyone is excited, and people are talking about the team. A lot of people didn't give the team a chance going into the tournament, but Bafana did so well. But the question you should ask yourself is why people would not expect a country like South Africa to get to the semi-finals of the AFCON with so many resources that you have. This is a country that has one of the best leagues in Africa. This is a country that probably has three of the best teams in Africa in Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. By mentioning these clubs, I am not talking about winning the CAF Champions League but the resources. Apart from a few teams in North Africa like Al Ahly and Zamalek in Egypt, Wydad and Raja Casablanca in Morocco, few other teams can match Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns in terms of resources and support. Apart from the few from North Africa, how many clubs on the continent that can afford to go to Belgium or South America for example to sign players? Bafana should be a team that is competing for winning the trophy all the time. I don't think there is any country in Africa that has got the facilities like these that South Africa has," said Lawal, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
The Bad
"If I can give you an example about West Africa, their leagues are not anywhere close to South Africa. I'm talking about countries like Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali and so on. Their leagues are not anywhere near the PSL. With the amount of money in the PSL from sponsorships and so on, those countries I am talking about don't have any of that. On the playing conditions and professionalism, the PSL is also way above the rest," he said.
The Ugly
"You can go as far as comparing the PSL with other Southern African countries like Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and there is still so much difference. Those countries have got almost nothing yet time and again they do well in the AFCON by reaching the semi-finals and finals. For example, South Africa beat Cape Verde on penalties in the quarter-finals, and in my opinion that shouldn't be happening. You saw how close the game was and had Cape Verde used all their chances, it could have been a different ball game altogether," the intermediary added.
"History between South Africa and Nigeria played a part"
A good fight against Nigeria
"Against Nigeria, Bafana put in a good fight and I was impressed with the performance and the fighting spirit. Maybe, it was because they had no choice but to fight in trying to get to the final. They gave a good fight and I suspect it was also because of the history between the two nations. So, the players went to the game fully aware of the past results between the two teams and there was a point to prove," concluded Lawal.
Should Broos continue as Bafana coach beyond AFCON?
