COMMENT
Bafana Bafana can beat Guinea, qualify for major tournaments and produce another memorable World Cup campaign, but there is one battle South Africa may struggle to win: getting supporters to leave their club colours at the door.
The debate has followed Pitso Mosimane from the moment he announced his first Bafana squad. Thirteen of the 30 players selected for the opening Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers came from Mamelodi Sundowns, while six represented Orlando Pirates.
That immediately became a talking point among supporters, with some questioning whether the numbers reflected performance or Mosimane’s long association with Sundowns. Then came the Guinea match.
Bafana won 2-1 at the Orlando Amstel Arena, but even a victory could not escape the club-versus-club debate.
This is where South African football has a problem: We have managed to turn Bafana into an extension of PSL rivalries.
If a Sundowns player is selected ahead of a Pirates player, it becomes evidence of bias. If a Chiefs player is left out, supporters ask why their club is being overlooked. And if a coach happens to have a history with one of the country’s big clubs, every selection can be viewed through that lens.
That is not entirely a Mosimane problem.
It is a football culture problem.
The reaction to Bafana’s 13 Sundowns players has demonstrated just how deeply club identity has infiltrated the national team conversation. And there is an uncomfortable irony here.
South Africa have spent years asking why Bafana cannot reproduce the best qualities of their strongest clubs at international level. Yet, when a coach selects heavily from one of those clubs, we question whether the selection is motivated by club loyalty.
There is nothing wrong with questioning a national-team coach. Selection must always be scrutinised. But the standard has to be the same regardless of the badge.
A player should not become better or worse in the eyes of a Bafana supporter simply because he wears a different club shirt on weekends. The national team belongs to all of us.
Pirates supporters should be able to celebrate a Sundowns player scoring for Bafana. Chiefs supporters should be able to applaud a Pirates player. Sundowns supporters should be able to recognise when a Chiefs player has delivered for South Africa.
That sounds obvious. In South African football, it clearly isn’t. And perhaps that is the biggest challenge facing Bafana — not Morocco, Senegal or any other African opponent.
It is getting South Africans to support Bafana before they support the badge on the player’s club shirt. | IOL Sport