SEDIBENG.- There is so much to look forward to in 2024!
For the whole month of January, it will be football galore on our screens with the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) set to kick off on January 13 in Ivory Coast. This is the best way to start the year in a high spirit, to say the least.
Hello to 2024, we love you and TOUCHLINE hopes you will love us back.
Talking about AFCON, it will be exciting to see how far Bafana Bafana will finish in this biggest sporting showpiece in the African continent. Bafana Bafana is been in a group of death alongside the likes of Tunisia, Mali, and Namibia in Group E.
Bafana Bafana is still busking in the glory of the 1996 African Cup of Nations even changing coaches like disposable nappies has not helped them. This is a chance for Bafana Bafana to redeem themselves in the African football. But having said this, it is not going to be easy looking at their group. In the previous tournaments, we would go home in the group stages.
This has been a story for some time, not to proceed further than group stages, however, Hugo Broos was full of confidence ahead of the tournament that Bafana Bafana is not going there to add numbers but to compete with African powerhouses in African football.
Broos was heavily criticised after he named his final 23-man squad for AFCON with many believing that he left certain good players behind. But Broos being Broos, he brushed off his critics as he believes he has selected the best team to represent Mzansi in this continental tournament.
TOUCHLINE must compliment Broos for one thing, his bravery to stick to his decisions even if it is unpopular decisions. He is always not shy to ‘shoot from the hip’ answering his critics. Those with long memory would recall how he used to snub Themba Zwane when making his selections, citing the age factor.
This was despite Zwane being the best player in PSL. He was not moved by those who criticised him for not selecting Zwane.
That is Broos for you!
But later he reconsidered his decision as he called this Mamelodi Sundowns dazzling midfielder, much delighted to the South African soccer fans. To make it interesting, Broos has selected 10 players from Sundowns following the club’s success in continental tournaments.
However, to some, his selection was justifiable considering Sundowns’ success in African football.
Love or hate him, Broos hasn’t needed approval from anyone since day one he put his foot on South African soil. It was controversy after controversy when he criticised the standard of football in PSL. This motor-mouth old man is one of the luckiest coaches to coach Bafana Bafana despite his utterances.
Enough about Broos.
I will be clued on to my TV screen for the whole month while enjoying African flair.
