Friday 10 August 2012

South Africa prepares for the Afrcan football tournament

(African Cup of Nations (Afcon) logo. South Africa will be hosting the tournament in January 2013)www.news24.co.za
The South African Football Association (SAFA) is determined to make the Africa Cup of Nations a success as South Africa were handed over to host the tournament in January 2013. South Africa is known for being good hosts/organisers after it has successfully organised a number of global events. Though when it comes to football, as a hosting country, the success of the tournament is not only measured on the technical side but also on how the hosting team performs.
(FNB Stadiums is one the the stadiums that are going to be used during the Afcons)www.viralkings.com
South Africa has what it takes to host the Afcons
Yes, South Africa may have the best training facilities, stadiums, warm crowd and even handful of sponsors behind the tournament but does that guarantee the supporters that the national team will win the tournament? On 30 June 2012, SAFA appointed a new national coach, Gordon Igesund, to bring back the national team to its winning ways after displaying poor performance under former coach Pitso Mosimane, playing seven games and winning none. Igesund, who is the most decorated coach in South Africa, winning four Premiere Soccer League (PSL) titles with four different teams, has a difficult task ahead of him. With only six months to prepare the boys, SAFA has set an unrealistic objective for the coach to win the tournament with a team that is ranked 67th in the world.

South Africa had originally failed to qualify for the Afcons but became the hosting country after Libya bailed out, South Africa got automatic selection. Gordon Igesund is arguably the best coach in the country but even he admitted that it would be tough to achieve what SAFA had set for him. At a press conference held in July 2012 at the SAFA House, Igesund mentioned said he would take advise from PSL coaches with regards to player selections and is grateful for the support he has received from the fans and the South African media. Gordon's appointment has brought positive energy ahead of the Afcons. Should South Africa win the tournament, from a public relations point of view, it would be a successfully organised event as it would bring gain to both the supporters and the organising committee.

Stadiums that are going to be used for the Afcons
  • FNB Stadium                                                 Johannesburg
  • Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium                         Port Elizaberth
  • Royal Bafokeng Stadium                                 Rusternburg
  • Moses Mabhida Stadium                                 Durban


 
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14 comments:

  1. Anonymous11 August 2012 at 04:51

    Well South Africa was ready to host the tournament before they even gave us this opportunity. I have a feeling is gonna be a successful one, we did it before with the world greatest game(FIFA world cup).

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    1. Unknown14 August 2012 at 04:44

      Themba, we sucessfully hosted the world cup, but got knocked out in the first round. i hope things will turn out differently this time

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  2. Sibusiso11 August 2012 at 14:36

    i just hope Bafana Bafana will make us proud hey but then i wish the best of luck for all teams that will be playing.... this is going to be interesting...

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    1. Unknown14 August 2012 at 04:46

      I hope so too Sibusiso because we will be playing against competitive teams in the tournament

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  3. Unknown12 August 2012 at 09:56

    I hope we host a successful tournament, we showed that we are capable of doing so in 2010, so now it is time to do it again. However I do hope that our national team does better this time.

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    1. Unknown14 August 2012 at 04:48

      with the newly appointed coach the lads will adopt his winning mentality

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  4. vongani13 August 2012 at 02:34

    The host always get free qualification and i hope this time Bafana Bafan will make us(South African) proud.And mzansi has been recommended as the best hosters of such big events.

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    1. Unknown14 August 2012 at 04:49

      Yeah they are the best hosters but we should also evaluate their performance in such tournaments

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  5. tsholofelo13 August 2012 at 02:39

    I believe that the boys will make us proud as the host nation and ian sad that Johannesburg will not host even one game its like going to England and not going to LOndon

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    1. Unknown14 August 2012 at 04:51

      Johannesburg is actually going to host two matches, it was only unfortunate that Cape Town did not meet the criteria that was set so they won't be hosting any games.

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  6. Refi M14 August 2012 at 08:11

    Well I think that we can and we will make it when it comes to the planning and hosting of the event but, I doubt we will win the tournament.

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    1. Unknown16 August 2012 at 05:13

      Refi, with the new appointed coach, we might win it

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  7. Unknown16 August 2012 at 05:48

    I think it was a maistake for South Africa to host this tournament, we wasted too much money on 2010 world cup therefore we must now focus on constructing SA by making sure that service deliveries promises are being meet in time to avoid the bad image the is being projected when commnity citizen toy toy.

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  8. Unknown28 August 2012 at 01:52

    its actually good that SA is hosting this event because these stadiums were built for such events

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