Safa boss cracking the whip

WHETHER there’s a new man in charge or Gordon Igesund somehow manages to hold on to his job, South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan expects to see Bafana at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco next year.

South Africa, who will be in Group A of the qualifiers, were paired against World Cup-bound Nigeria, Sudan and the winner between Namibia versus Congo as well as the victorious side when Libya take on Rwanda over two legs in May and June.

Speaking from Cairo, Egypt, where he attended Sunday’s draw, with the group stages confirmed to get under way in September, Jordaan said the association only anticipated one outcome from Bafana.

“My expectations are the same as yours and that of many South Africans. We have to get there because we haven’t managed to qualify for the Nations Cup since 2008 . And you can even go further to say we haven’t qualified for a World Cup since 2002.

“I don’t want to go too far and say we want to win it. Let us get through the first hurdle, which is qualifying, and then we can address the next stage. I have to believe we have a team that can do the job with the current crop of players. We just need consistency,” said Jordaan.

It is still unclear who will lead Bafana from the dugout during these qualifiers, with Safa yet to name a new coach or yet to give Igesund any assurances regarding his post.

Igesund, whose contract expires in August, was cleared by the findings from the Norman Arendse Commission into allegations he instigated players to demand bonuses during the African Nations Championship in January and that agents influenced his team selection.

Yesterday, Jordaan said he would end the uncertainty over the hot seat in July, adding Igesund had ample time to prepare during Bafana’s trip to Australia and New Zealand later next month should he stay on.

“We are not going to waste time because the qualifiers will start in September and we should bear that in mind.

“We will make a decision by the end of July. We need a settled team.

“The coach now has some time to look at the players at his disposal because the PSL will shut down and he will spend a week with them on this tour.

“We have been inconsistent because we beat Spain the one night then lost to Brazil on the other,” said Jordaan.

Igesund said: “The past two years of my tenure have been the most difficult one but now I have a core of around 30 players from which to choose and Bafana should be one of the countries going to Morocco. It is a fair draw and I think we should be one of the two countries that qualify.”