After the 1992 re-admission of our national team to world football, every South African was more than happy for a number of reasons, but one that was top of the list was that, at the time, we had the best players ever. We had the core of the cream. I think it's safe to say that our players never disappointed as they went on to win the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, just three and a half years after being re-admitted by FIFA.
After that Afcon, we had the highest ranking ever in our history. We were ranked 10th in the world. That was not by fluke, but through the talent we had at the time. But soon after that we started on a decline of some sort. Many blame poor decision-making by our mother body when it comes to developing and nurturing talent, and the chopping and changing of coaches. That has affected us badly and taken us 10 steps back over the years.
We hosted a very successful FIFA World Cup in 2010, but we weren't so successful on the field of play and we even set a record, but not a good one, though – we became the very first host team to bow out in the group stages of the tournament. That tells the story of our football.
There has been a lot of cries about development, but they seemingly always fell on deaf ears. All we do nowadays is celebrate mediocrity because it's what we've been subjected to when it comes to our beloved Bafana Bafana.
It's high time the powers that be in SAFA fix whatever problems are there, for everyone's sake. We cannot afford to be the laughing stock of the world, where we are known for winning all the friendlies, even against a powerhouse like Spain, but we always crash when it comes to important games, like the World Cup and Afcon qualifiers.
Ukuthula kwande bakithi
Beaver Nazo
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