Bafana Bafana arrived in Pointe Noire for Sunday’s key African Nations Cup qualifier against Congo to be pleasantly surprised by the tranquil, balmy weather conditions — but soon a storm of discontent had enveloped the South African camp.
South African Football Association communications manager Morio Sanyane reported from Pointe Noire on Saturday that Bafana coach Carlos Albert Parreira was fuming over the failure of the Congolese to provide his players with the kind of ball that will be used in Sunday’s game.
”This is against Fifa rules,” said Parreira. ”It is wrong. We should be given the opportunity to get a feel of the type of ball used on match day — and we will certainly take the matter up with the relevant authorities.”
The South African contingent arrived in Pointe Noire without any officials of the Congo Football Federation to meet them, and was directed to what Safa head of delegation Mandla ”Shoes” Mazibuko described as ”sub-standard accommodation”.
”We had to put our foot down and demand a respectable four-star hotel,” he added, ”which was finally granted after a lot of fuss and bother.”
South Africa’s ambassador in Congo, Welsh Makhanda, has sent a letter to its government to ”ensure our people are not intimidated and mishandled until departure from the country in the same way as in 1997”.
Reports have also been received of a bitter argument between the South African Broadcasting Corporation and Congolese officials who are demanding a fee of more than R1-million to televise Sunday’s game.
Despite the ball furore, the Bafana players were able to get a feel of the artificial grass surface at Pointe Noire’s Municipal Stadium on Saturday afternoon. — Sapa