Bafana Bafana interim coach Molefi Ntseki, formerly with Kaizer Chiefs, has a great chance to end a 14-year torment for the national team regarding the CHAN tournament.
Bafana have been embarrassed over the years in the African Nations Championship, a biennial continental tournament reserved for players based locally.
With various coaches having the headache of choosing third or even fourth string sides in the country, with PSL teams not obliged to release players, it has been an uphill battle for Bafana Bafana to qualify.
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However, Bafana under Ntseki are on the cusp of making a name for themselves, after they thrashed Egypt 4-2 on aggregate, following a 3-1 win in the second-leg, in the penultimate qualifying round.
Bafana under the former Amakhosi coach are scheduled to face Malawi in the final qualifying round in May, where if they are victorious over two legs, they would qualify for the tournament that will be hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in August.
South Africa could not qualify in the last four editions, in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022, with the country criticized for not taking the matches seriously enough.
The last time Bafana competed at the CHAN tournament was in 2014 when they were hosts and were embarrassed after they could not qualify for the knockout stages, following a third-place finish in their group.
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South Africa have only once qualified for the CHAN on merit in 2011, where they were eliminated in the round of 16 after a 2-0 defeat to Algeria.
Unlike in previous years where the Bafana squad for CHAN qualifiers was dominated by rejected and old players, including players in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
Coach Helman Mkhalele, who handed the reigns to Ntseki, to focus on his main job with Hugo Broos, seems to have made a good choice to select younger players and players not used at some big teams, including Kutlwano Letlhaku, Neo Maema Terrence Mashego and Jody February all of Mamelodi Sundowns.
Orlando Pirates forward Monnapule Saleng was also part of the squad before he was withdrawn after the first leg.
