Tinkler: Bafana brand a shadow of its former self

Eric Tinkler, head coach of Cape Town City chats to his players

Tuesday Feb 21, 2023. 13:00

Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler believes inconsistency with team selection is having a negative impact on Bafana Bafana.

Tinkler represented South Africa on 45 occasions and was part of that famed squad that won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil.

Bafana would become a rising power on the continent in the years to come, reaching the 1998 AFCON final and qualifying for the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

However, the national team hasn’t featured at the World Cup since hosting the global showpiece in 2010 and failed to go further than the AFCON quarter-final stages in the last 20 years.

Hugo Broos has called up no less than 68 players since being handed the reins in May 21 and Tinkler feels the constant chopping and changing of the squad is hampering Bafana, as well as the unavailability of those plying their trade abroad.

“I think the brand itself… the name Bafana Bafana doesn’t carry the weight that it used to carry,” Tinkler told Marawa Sports World Wide.

“I think a lot is down to team selection. There’s been a merry-go-round… players in, players out, players in, players out.

“Obviously the lack of international players, players playing abroad in bigger leagues, is another key element why Bafana are not doing well.”