After the 3-1 thrashing South Africa's Bafana Bafana received from the Super Eagles of Nigeria, President Jacob Zuma has come out to defend the team in the face of strong criticism of the team by his Sports Minister, Fikile Mbalula...
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| President Jacob Zuma with Bafana Bafana |
Zuma defends Bafana, Igesund
President Jacob Zuma has come out in support of under-fire
Bafana Bafana and its coach Gordon Igesund, SAfm reported on Tuesday.
“We're well aware that some people are criticising the way
the national team played against Nigeria. Some want the team disbanded. It has
improved greatly and needs our support.
“The current coach knows what he's doing. He's great at his
job. The fact that the team lost, that doesn't mean anything as other teams
lost as well,” the president told SAfm in isiZulu.
The interview was translated into English by the public
broadcaster.
Zuma was speaking after Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula on
Monday called Bafana Bafana a “bunch of losers” after losing to Nigeria in the
2014 African Nations Championship.
“What I saw was not a problem of coaching, it was a bunch of
losers,” Mbalula told journalists in Cape Town on Monday.
“Their performance was not even lacklustre, it was useless.
We must go to the drawing board. That mediocrity that was displayed… we must
never wake up to that again.”
The host side crashed out of the tournament following a
heavy 3-1 defeat against Nigeria in their final group A clash at Cape Town
Stadium on Sunday evening, stumbling at the first hurdle and failing to make it
out of the group stage. - Sapa
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