The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture, Ms Beauty Dlulane, has noted with appreciation Bafana Bafana’s performance against Nigeria, in which South Africa lost in a penalty shoot-out in an African Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals match yesterday in Bouake in Côte d’Ivoire.
Ms Dlulane said South Africa should be proud of their performance at AFCON 2024.“Bafana Bafana went out fighting and dominated all aspects of the game. They were able to dominate Nigeria and pushed them all the way. The nation supports the boys; we are proud of the effort they put in,” said Ms Dlulane.
“In semi-finals, worse still in penalty shoot-outs, anything is possible. We were able to push Nigeria, a team composed mostly of European-based players, with mostly locally-based players,” she continued.
Meanwhile, Bafana Bafana’s overall performance in the AFCON 2024 is a vote of confidence in the South African Premier League and in the quality of the local players, Ms Dlulane said.
South Africa went out on penalties against Nigeria, 4–2, after threatening the entire game. Bafana Bafana will play for the third place against the loser of the second semi-finalists between host Côte d’Ivoire or the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“The nation is immensely proud of the effort, be it on the losing side tonight,” added Ms Dlulane.