You must sit up: Minister tells Bafana Bafana ahead Eagles tie
Incensed by the sliding fortune of Bafana Bafana in the 2019 AFCON Qualifiers, South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Tokozile Xasa has warned that if the senior national team continues to under-perform on the continental and international stage head will roll even as the team is set to battle Nigeria on November 17 in Johannesburg.
According to Sowetan Live, the Coach Start Baxter-tutored side is second behind Nigeria in Group E of AFCON Qualifiers after they were held to an embarrassing 0-0 draw by minnows Seychelles in their away from home‚ and the Sports Minister said no one can run away from the fact that the senior national team is not doing well.
“If they continue not to take things seriously‚ people will be held accountable‚” she said during a press conference where she announced a list of nominees for the South African Sports Awards in Johannesburg on Friday.
“We want to engage with them (South Africa Football Association) moving forward because the problems have been growing when it comes to men’s football in the country. They are not excelling.
“Bafana Bafana players must put in the effort when they are playing for the country and understand the importance of playing and having national colours‚” she added.
Male football does not feature predominantly on the list of nominees for the South African Sports Awards‚ with Belgian-based Bafana forward Percy Tau an outsider for the people’s choice award‚ and Xasa said that is a reflection of their recent struggles.
“Bafana Bafana is the biggest [national team] and hopefully you could see the biggest representation from them in terms of nominations if they were performing well‚” the minister said.
“They are not doing well at the moment and we can’t run away from that.
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“SAFA have to do something because we can’t continue to let country down. South Africans are passionate about football and you could see that it was empty at FNB Stadium [in Bafana’s 6-0 AFCON win against Seychelles on Saturday] and that is letting down the people.”