Bafana Bafana can cash in big time if they can bank their spot at Afcon 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire.
That’s the message from South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan ahead of their Group K qualifying double header against Liberia on Friday night and next Tuesday.
Win those two games and South Africa will be back competing for Africa’s biggest prize for the first time since 2019.
It’s game day! We need you! 🙏![CDATA[]]>🏽 Be the 12th man as we face off against Liberia. #AFCON2023Qualifiers #AFCON2023Q #BafanaPride @LeCoqSportif_SA @ENDURADESPORTS @SABC_Sport @SuperSportTV pic.twitter.com/tP6lRRz4RY
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) March 24, 2023
Ahead Friday’s 6pm showdown at Orlando Stadium, coach Hugo Broos warned his players that Liberia’s Lone Stars have been promised a helse bonus if they end Bafana’s hopes.
The Belgian tells reporters: “Two tough games are waiting for us.
“The efforts that Liberia have put in the last months show they are ambitious
“And the rumour I heard is that the bonus they will get to qualify is enormous.
“That means we will have a team against us that will be motivated and it’s up to us to not underestimate them.”
Making a counter offer, Safa chief Jordaan first denied reports that they had also promised Bafana a cash incentive.
But says he will get the cheque book out if Bafana beat the 140th ranked team to qualification, meaning June’s clash with group leaders Morocco will be a dead rubber.
Jordaan tells Safa media: “The incentive for [Bafana] is to qualify for Afcon.
“There is always the temptation to introduce money on the eve of a very important match.
“But Safa will be around… this thing in the media is a distraction.
“We don’t want to bring up things that will take the players’ focus off the match.”
With money on the table, who will come up trumps?
SELECTED AFCON QUALIFIERS
Friday: DR Congo v Mauritania (3pm), Cape Verde v Eswatini, Nigeria v Guinea-Bissau (both 6pm), Equatorial Guinea v Botswana, Egypt v Malawi, Senegal v Mozambique (all 9pm), Cameroon v Namibia, Tunisia v Libya (both 10.30pm). Sunday: Lesotho v Zambia (3pm).