Bafana Bafana's coach has reportedly been given the mandate to win the upcoming CHAN tournament or at least reach the final and if he does not achieve this he must 'do the honourable thing'. I guess the honourable thing means he is expected to resign.
Safa vice president Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana is the man quoted as saying these words in the media.
When I first read Nonkonyana's statement, my first reaction was that the chief was right. The reason I felt that way was because we have been made to believe that the PSL is by far the biggest league in Africa and as such we must have the best local talent in Africa.
But after looking at the PSL fixtures I saw that there will be league games during the knockout stages of the CHAN and with the PSL teams known for being uncooperative at times, I realised that perhaps this mandate is farfetched.
In order for Igesund to do well in the CHAN he needs to select the best possible squad of local players, but with the tournament not included on the FIFA calendar, PSL clubs are not obliged to release their players.
If the PSL doesn't postpone games then the clubs might refuse to release their players to play in the tournament and as the result of that Igesund might be forced to select a weakened Bafana Bafana team.
With Kaizer Chiefs and possibly Orlando Pirates, if they win this season's CAF Champions League, set to play in that competition sometime in February next year, the two teams are not likely to release their players.
So is it realistic to expect Igesund to win the tournament or to go all the way to the final? I don't think so.
Safa need to convince the PSL to postpone the league games first and also convince the PSL clubs to release their players before they can set high goals for Igesund.
If they can do that, then they are within their rights to set such targets because we're the host country and with the talent that SA possesses, reaching the final or winning the CHAN is not an impossible task at all.
We can't keep making up numbers in international tournaments, especially the ones we host.
If Safa do manage to give Igesund all the necessary tools to do well in the CHAN and he fails to achieve his mandate, then doing the honourable thing won't be such a bad decision after all.
Those are my thoughts. What are yours?
Sidlal'idiski
Khaya Ndubane
