OPINION | South Africans excel at Afcon 2021, but when will Bafana follow suit?

It is a milestone in SA football that cannot by allowed to slip by unnoticed that a SA referee and assistant referee officiated the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final, a countryman presented the medals and another was assistant coach of the losing finalists.

It should also not go unnoticed that the night before Senegal beat Egypt in the Nations Cup final in Yaounde, SA football's brightest export, Pitso Mosimane, was steering an Al Ahly severely depleted by the Afcon scheduling clash to a momentous 1-0 win against Mexico's Monterrey at the Fifa Club World Cup. Ahly, with their Egypt national stars back, meet Brazil's Palmeiras in the semifinal in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday night with a chance to become just the second African team to reach a Club World Cup final.

At Olembe Stadium on Sunday night the Confederation of African Football (Caf) president handing out the medals to the Pharaohs and Lions of Teranga was Patrice Motsepe. Victor Gomes did a sterling job as the first South African to referee an Afcon final, ably assisted by son of Alexandra Zakhele Siwela.

Roger de Sa, like Egypt's head coach Carlos Queiroz, could not collect his silver due to a disciplinary ban, but his was just another role of a multitude of South Africans imparting of their expertise — many of them groomed for such roles at the 2010 Fifa World Cup — at all levels in Cameroon.

SA Football Association (Safa) chief medical officer Dr Thulani Ngwenya, Cosafa secretary-general Sue Destombes, David van Vuuren (security) and Raymond Hack as chair of the disciplinary committee had influential roles at Afcon 2021.

Kabelo “KB” Bosilong was host city manager for Limbe, and Orlando Pirates' media officer Thandi Merafe served that role at the Nations Cup, another South African who was selected to handle the final. Ex-Premier Soccer League communications head Luxolo September, as Caf head of operations, media relations and commercial special projects, was involved in the tournament.

Mamelodi Sundowns' physical trainer Riedoh Berdien serves as assistant coach, physical trainer and analyst to coach Tom Saintfiet for the Gambia who made such an impression at their maiden Afcon.

No doubt, Motsepe being Caf president would be influential in the appointment of so many South Africans as tournament officials.

But SA's presence at the Nations Cup was also part of a trend of the country's expertise in coaching and administration becoming sought-after abroad. Other examples are Bradley Carnell, appointed manager of US Major League Soccer's St Louis City; and Alan Clark, assistant coach of Kosovo's Under-21s. Russell Paul is COO of the 2022 Qatar World Cup and Senzo Mazingiza CEO of Tanzania's Yanga SC.

The exploits of SA's referees, administrators, officials and coaches on the international stage are a source of pride for SA football. They deserve all credit for flying the flag with a level of professionalism, earning the country's off-field experts a growing reputation internationally.

The greatest source of pride for SA would be if Bafana Bafana could follow suit. The SA men's national team were conspicuous by their absence again at Afcon 2021. The legacy of hosting the 2010 World Cup was not supposed to be just about producing world-class administrators, referees and coaches. It was meant to result in progress on the field.

There has been some progress. SA clubs have reversed their trend of underperformance in continental football. Even Kaizer Chiefs — grossly underperforming domestically having not won a trophy in six seasons — reached the 2020-21 Caf Champions League final.

That made three SA finalists in eight years since Orlando Pirates lost 3-1 on aggregate to Al Ahly in 2013, with Mamelodi Sundowns becoming the second SA side to lift the trophy in 2016. Pirates also reached the 2015 Caf Confederation Cup final, and so did SuperSport United in 2017.

Women's football is thriving. Banyana Banyana qualified for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and 2019 World Cup, and the women's national team's stars ply their trade at some top clubs in Europe. In November Sundowns won the inaugural Caf Women's Champions League.

So there are signs of progress in multiple aspects of SA football. Glaringly, the central aspect that would bring pride to millions of South Africans if it could excel in a similar manner, the men's national football team, continue to underperform, even if Hugo Broos' young revolution seems to hold potential. Perhaps the esteemed bosses of SA football should try to figure out where we have gone right everywhere else, and how to apply some of that to Bafana Bafana.

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