The Bafana Bafana of South Africa failed to qualify for the upcoming AFCON 2021 to be staged in Cameroon in January 2022 after a 2-0 loss to Sudan.
Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 at home to Ghana last Thursday and needed to avoid defeat against Sudan to ensure qualification but fell to two first half goals and head coach Molefi Ntseki has claimed responsibility for the team’s failure.
“I think as a head coach of Bafana Bafana, I came up with a turn-around strategy and I think everything started very well, because we managed to accumulate 10 points and needed only a point to qualify,” Ntseki told SAFA media after the match, quoted by KickOff.
“Yes, as a coach, as head of the selection committee, as head of the team, my disappointment is huge – it’s huge for my personal growth and my personal achievement as coach of Bafana Bafana.
“The success of the team is my success, and the failure of the team firstly starts with me – to say, ‘I have failed as a coach’, because in football we need to own up.
“When there is success, you become everybody’s favourite but when there is failure, you become and orphan and everybody looks at you and says, ‘You failed the team; you could not qualify.’
“But things like this do happen in football, and we own up… It’s a big disappointment for myself.”
Bafana Bafana will not take part in the 24 nations tournament in Cameroon having missed out on the 2010, 2012 and 2019 editions in recent times. South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s first AFCON as CAF President will not have his country participating.