Bafana is not an exclusive Boys Club

I hope all the bigwigs and big shots in their tailored suits and matching ties who occupy the Glasshouse at Safa House were squirming with embarrassment at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium near Rustenburg on Sunday as Bafana Bafana held Ghana to a 1-1 draw.

In their wisdom, Safa and the technical committee decided to downgrade matches against Zambia and Ghana, ostensibly because they were scared the South African team would be humiliated and perhaps even annihilated by the two Afcon qualifiers.

It is now history, that despite missing some of the so-called regulars, Bafana managed to hold a full strength Zambia and Ghana to stalemates. Now, was Safa justified in denying those brave boys an opportunity to earn caps for representing their countries?

Did they apply their minds thoroughly to the challenge they faced instead of allowing fear to cloud their judgement? True leaders do not throw their arms up in the air in frustration or baulk at a challenge facing them but instead show a brave face, hide their own fears and instil confidence in those around them.

I agree that the decision of certain PSL clubs to withdraw their players from the squad did not inspire confidence nor showed any inkling of patriotism in South Africa's cause. But are we implying that in the absence of certain players, no one else is capable of wearing the national colours with honour and pride?

I wish to stress here that I was equally disgusted by what seemed to be the selfish decision of certain clubs to bar their players from national duty, but what message are we giving the players that performed so admirably against Ghana and Zambia?

Are we saying that those magnificent boys cannot receive caps because we do not have enough faith in them? In the movie "Any Given Sunday" Al Pacino and his team faces the toughest team in the land and appear headed for a beating of their lives.

But at half time Pacino gives the boys a rousing pep talk and instilled in them the kind of confidence that made his players to feel like they could actually walk on fire if necessary and their feet will not be burned as they felt invincible.

We talk of building a larger pool of players. Now, can you imagine if our authorities had been bold enough to have told those boys that they held the responsibility of fighting for the honour of South Africa against Zambia and Ghana, what that show of trust could have done to their confidence?

Sadly by our own actions, we hinted to those boys that only certain players are good enough to earn national colours. As for them, well, we told them they are a weakened lot and cannot hold the torch bearing our national colours.

I hope our authorities have learned a bitter lesson and have become wiser and more courageous after this debacle. I hope in future they will have the courage to select players that are willing to die for their country and encourage them to honour the country in the best way they can.

Can you imagine what would happen if the unfortunate tragedy that befell Zambia in 1993 when the entire national team perished off the coast of Gabon? Zambia reconstructed a brand new team within weeks and went all the way to the final of the 1994 African Nations Cup tournament where they lost to Nigeria.

Zambia had confidence in their players and though mourning their compatriots, they were driven by the desire to honour those that perished and were lifted by the confidence showed to them by their authorities to perform like they had wings beneath their feet.

In our case, and God forbid it does not happen, but should we somehow lose through an unforeseen tragedy, the players that were withdrawn, are we going to shut out everything and withdraw from both CAF and Fifa competitions because we do not have enough confidence in the players that do not make the current first team?

Are we not creating a situation where some players in the national team might feel they do not have to push themselves any harder, because they know deep down that no matter how poor or bad they perform at their clubs, they are nonetheless guaranteed selection to the national squad?

We downgraded the matches because we were protecting our Fifa rankings. But we are hosts of the 2013 African Nations Cup and the draw for the 2014 Fifa World Cup has been conducted and we were seeded in our group and clearly there was no justification for our fears.

Let us create competition among our players, encourage them that the playing fields are level and they all have an equal fighting opportunity to wear national colours at any given time without creating an exclusive boys club!