How Bafana missed Brazil & Argentina chance

Not many countries in Africa would pass on the opportunity to play against Brazil or Argentina in an international friendly, but sometimes it’s easier said than done.

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In Bafana Bafana’s case, they missed the chance to play one of the South American countries because the fees demanded exceeded SAFA’S budget. But with better planning, SAFA could have secured one of the countries and there is a good chance they would have had a return on investment. Soccer Laduma looks at how it could have happened.

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos recently revealed that playing Brazil and Argentina was an option for the national team to prepare for the FIFA World Cup, but the amount that was requested by both countries was way more than what the South African Football Association (SAFA) could afford.

The Belgian revealed that SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao told him that Brazil requested $5 million (R86 million), while Argentina charged €5 million (R98 million). Panama was finally confirmed as the opponent for the recent international window, as Bafana hosted the Central American country in two international friendlies played in Durban and Cape Town.

Many South Africans questioned why Bafana had to play Panama twice and felt that the national team should have had stronger opposition to prepare for the World Cup set to start in June. But for SAFA, paying close to the R100 million was not possible, even with all their current sponsors supporting the national team.

Former SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani told Soccer Laduma that hosting Brazil or Argentina would be possible, but in most cases, it would need a one-off partner to fund everything.