They left unheralded and without much fanfare but they astounded the entire continent by becoming the second country after the hosts
to qualify for the last eight in the African Nations Championship in Sudan.
South African coach Simon Ngomane scoured the lower divisions of the Premiership league after the clubs refused to release their players for the biennial tournament. He selected players from the third and fourth tiers and came up with a rag-tag team dubbed the Amabinneplaas. It seemed certain they would return with their tails between their legs after the group stage.
But they stunned the favourites Ghana, runners-up in the inaugural tournament in Côte d’Ivoire two years ago. Amabinneplaas reversed a 1-0 deficit to win their opening match 2-1, a result that had the Black Stars’ supporters calling for the resignation of their coach. The South Africans then faced a Niger team that had defeated Zimbabwe 1-0 also on the opening day — but Amabinneplaas scripted another surprising result, defeating their opponents 2-0 and advancing to the quarterfinals.
Who knows just how far this team can go in this tournament?
And maybe next time the PSL teams will be more sympathetic to the likes of Ngomane and make their players available.