Not only did CEO Raymond Hack state categorically on Monday that the South African Football Association (Safa) had received no correspondence from Stuart Baxter intimating he was resigning as Bafana Bafana coach, but he also confirmed that arrangements for the African Nations Cup tournament in Egypt early next year were proceeding on the basis Baxter would be the national coach.
This constituted, more or less, the gist of the latest chapter in a saga over the future of the embattled Bafana coach that contains all the duplicity and undertones of an Agatha Christie mystery.
Asked whether he had received a comprehensive letter from Baxter outlining shortcomings in the Bafana set-up, Hack reiterated there had been no correspondence on the issue of the Bafana coach resigning.
When it was pointed out this was not the question posed to him, the urbane Safa official who was nicknamed ”Pedrocelli” after TV’s ”legal eagle” sleuth of the same name, replied: ”You know I’m a lawyer by profession. What kind of answer do you expect from me?”
Less cloaked in legal jargon were the details Hack revealed of Bafana’s future itinerary — both before and after the African Nations Cup.
Hack said the only definite fixture on the agenda is a warm-up game before the Nations Cup against host nation Egypt a week before the start of the tournament.
”The failure to qualify for the finals of next year’s World Cup in Germany has obviously altered Bafana’s priorities after the Nations Cup,” said the Safa CEO, ”but fixtures against Poland and England are in the pipeline, if not confirmed.
”The game against Poland in South Africa in March or April looks pretty certain, and I would rate the possibility of this fixture taking place as 80%.
”The England game, on the other hand, is only 50% and largely dependent on the World Cup draw and whether England feel it should be part of their build-up to play a warm-up against an African nation.” — Sapa