No reason Bafana can’t scale Afcon heights

Not many will give Bafana Bafana a chance of winning the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title in Ivory Coast over the next few weeks. They may not even get out of their group.

They have flattered to deceive in recent times and being drawn in a tricky group with Mali, Tunisia and Namibia would not have convinced even their most loyal supporters that they can win the title for a second time – 28 years after their only triumph.

Their introduction to the competition was brilliant, winning on debut in 1996 on home soil, then finishing runners-up and third in their next two attempts. That’s where the magic stopped, though, as three quarter-final appearances is all they could muster in the last 22 years, even failing to qualify four times since 2010.

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Bafana, ranked 12th in Africa and 66th in the world, begin their Afcon campaign against Mali on Tuesday.

It’s puzzling they haven’t added to their 1996 triumph. Former Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o is also perplexed, but said there was no reason why SA could not become a force to be reckoned with in the future.

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Eto’o said: “I am baffled as to why Bafana Bafana have constantly underperformed at the Cup of Nations. The South African league is well organised and one of the best in Africa so I do not understand why the national team is not that good.

“Football officials need to sit down and plan how to take Bafana to another level and make it the best national team in Africa. Given the strength of the national league, that is possible.”

Tunisia, winners in 2004, are ranked 28th in the world; Mali are 51st and Namibia are 115th. Bafana will have to punch considerably above their weight if they are to make an impact and reverse years of underperformance.

A good result against Mali would be a good starting point. Let’s get behind our national team.