Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa's presence in the Bafana Bafana changing room versus Mali has created so much debate with different views coming from football fans.
Following Bafana's 2-0 loss to Mali in their opening Africa Cup of Nations Group E match on Tuesday, a video of Kodwa addressing players in the change room circulated on social media.
Also in the video, SAFA president Danny Jordaan could be seen standing not far from Kodwa, while Bafana coach Hugo Broos appeared a little behind them and on the far left with his head looking down throughout.
While some in the fraternity have defended the minister, others have viewed it in a different light in what has since sparked debate.
Football Union of South Africa (FUSA) founder, Calvin 'Salter' Motlaung, is disappointed with Kodwa's actions.
The Good
"There is nothing wrong in motivating the boys. Go and motivate them and wish them all the best but going into the change room and coach is something else. Don't do that – telling them what to do and what not to do on the field of play is the responsibility of the coach. From what I heard in the video, the minister was talking tactics, and the big question is, is he a coach?" Motloung asked.
The Bad
"What is going on with South African football? We can't allow things like this to happen in our football. Is the minister also serving in a different role as a technical director of the national team? Such things shouldn't be allowed to happen in our football. While the minister was busy talking, you could see the coach standing at the back and appearing to be very surprised. He must have been asking himself, 'Is he now coaching my team?' What message are the politicians sending? Are they saying they are going to coach themselves come the match against Namibia?' To me, that looked like a message that was being sent," he said.
The Ugly
"Very soon we might be called bunch of losers again. We once had a minister (Fikile Mbalula) who called our players a bunch of losers. Why are we allowing these things to happen? Our players should be respected. Would he (Kodwa) do the same thing in other sporting codes? He wouldn't. Are they saying the coach doesn't know his job? We just can't allow things like this to carry on," Motloung added.
"Minister stay on your lane"
"Even if you feel like you have something to say as a minister, don't go and say it in the change room. You are not a coach but a politician. Minister stay on your lane, and that's all I will say. Respect football. From what I was in what he was doing there, he looked like someone who doesn't respect football. Even if the coach was not there, addressing the players in the way he did wouldn't have been a proper way of doing it in my opinion. And the president of SAFA was also in presence," concluded Motloung.
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