AFCON 2024 certainly did not fail to deliver on the drama as far as a major sporting event usually goes. History was made by countries such as Mali, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa, while giants like Senegal and Morocco suffered shock defeats in the Ro16. The SA keeper in particular, Ronwen Williams, was rightfully acknowledged for his outstanding contribution in the tournament and to his team. His name will echo long in the hallways together with the best goalkeepers football has ever known. Most matches were as intense as they had been hyped up to be: Mali vs Ivory Coast, South Africa vs Morocco, Senegal vs Ivory Coast, and the Final Nigeria vs Ivory Coast as examples.
It was an open field after astounding results in the group stage. In South Africa’s perspective, the stars finally aligned so-to-speak, and yet, their work ethic, discipline and heart showed quite clearly in their performances, forcing many pundits the world over to admit that they earned their bronze medals ultimately. This edition of the event was just as much a fairy-tale story for the host nation as it was for South Africa; the hosts were last crowned champions in 2015 after beating Ghana in an emotional showcase of a penalty shootout to the death.
A handful of players who shone during this tournament include Serge Aurier (as he did in 2015 too), a consistent and reliable player for his team, the midfielder Seko Fofana (who opted for the Ivory Coast national jersey after having worn the French one as a youngster), young star Lamine Camara (who came off age arguably before the start of the AFCON 2024 event), Teboho Mokoena (a player who has really put in the work from the ground up – while he has had notable moments such as being a part of the U23 side in the Games in Tokyo 2020, it was AFCON 2024 where he probably felt that his time on the biggest stage has finally come, the hard work has paid off et cetera), and Mr. golden boot Emilio Nsue (who has since been suspended after the event along with team mate Ivan Salvador for ill-discipline).
The South African team, nick-named Bafana Bafana felt the support immensely from the whole country, from other athletes including the iconic figure in the country’s springbok captain Siya Kolisi, as well as from South African expats in countries such as China. In the same way the expat community of South Africans living and working in China texted each other and all met up in cliques to watch the rugby world cup, they did the same for Bafana Bafana. Sea World, a popular hangout spot for internationals in Nanshan district in the city of Shenzhen was a buzz with South Africans who wanted to watch matches on the big screen. Of course the issue of the time difference meant that most of them had to resort to live streaming from the comfort of their apartments. This time around, after 2 decades and some change, South Africa were in the Semi-Final – the one thing the nation wished most of all was that Clive Barker had lived just a few more months to see this current side dance. One of the legend’s final interviews was on Power fm with M. Sanyane on 16th September 2022. He took stock of his coaching achievements and experiences. He spoke warmly of his beloved 1994 squad and encouraged the current side to do their best not to lose their essence in “our style of play”…never to forget to dance. Clive Barker died at the age of 78 on 10th June 2023.
The South African side still has glimpses of the glory days playing style which included dribbling, a fair balance of defensive prowess and attacking, but it was evident that they were also sharp in counter attack play during the AFCON 2024 event. The only way from here is up. They can only continue to build from this performance because they can all hold their heads high after playing as one.
The diaspora vs local talent
“Of the 24 nations that qualified for AFCON, only three (South Africa, Egypt and Namibia) have no dual nationals in their squad. Historically, these three teams have always relied heavily on young players from local leagues, with the Egyptian and South African leagues considered to be the most competitive on the continent. As for the other competing nations, from the most impressive to the most modest, they have called up footballers with several passports, from France, Spain, Germany or the Netherlands”.
By Mustapha Kessous and Alexis Billebault
This marks this performance from Bafana Bafana as an even more impressive one because they silenced the noise in statements like “the best players are from or play in Europe”. They proved worthy opponents with locally selected players and had a run to the semi finals.
