South Africa’s national team has been regarded as a sleeping giant for a while now, and looking at the returns in recent matches, it is hard to argue against that.
Bafana Bafana have not qualified for any major tournament in recent years and these misses come in spite of the nation having one of the most robust leagues in Africa, not to mention the talent and media coverage it enjoys.
Despite this, the likes of Ghana and Senegal, countries that are not known for having strong domestic leagues, have excelled at Bafana Bafana’s expense. The national team is coming from two straight draws, with minnows Eswatini, and AFCON 2023 hosts Ivory Coast.
These results embody how predictable Bafana Bafana results have been in recent years and this could stretch on to the AFCON finals. Betting enthusiasts will like this predictability, making it count with bookies offering signup bonuses that could easily go with it.
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Declining standards
The case for the declining standards of South African football can be incomprehensible at times but obvious blunders have cost Bafana Bafana. The first being a constant change of the national team managers, fostering instability as well as the obvious lack of continuity.
In the last 10 years alone, South Africa has had 10 different coaches. One of their most famous ones, Pitso Mosimane was in charge when a serious miscalculation cost them a place at the 2012 AFCON.
From the time Clive Barker led the team to the 1996 AFCON title, no coach has been able to match the feat. The current one Hugo Broos has had really uncomfortable moments, having to navigate murky relations with both the league management body, the PSL, and the clubs from within and without.
Recently, Broos, who was appointed in 2021, pointed to frosty relations with clubs after a number of top players turned down the chance to feature in the October international break.
Players unavailable
Broos was at a loss with players seeking to be excused from national team duties yet a few days later going on to feature for their clubs. The nature of the fractured relations between the national team and stakeholders stretch to the PSL schedules, with the two parties clearly
