Banyana Banyana, South Africa's senior womens football team are an inspiration to Bafana Bafana for Afcon 2013.
Banyana Banyana progressed to the final of the African Women's Championships after defeating Nigeria for the first time in the semi-finals of the continental tournament on Wednesday night.
Banyana Banyana will now face hosts Equatorial Guinea in the final of the African Women's Championships. They won a game they were expected to lose, so I believe that they will bring the cup home.
This almost miraculous feat by Banyana Banyana will and should inspire Bafana Bafana to use home advantage and win Afcon 2013. Bafana Bafana won their first and only Africa cup of nations cup when fate made them the host of AFCON, this time around fate has also played its hand and Bafana Bafana find themselves hosting another AFCON.
Fate has also given Bafana the best local coach as the coach of the national team. Gordon Igesund who took charge of the national side in July 2012 is known to be a great motivator and tactician who has a proven track record. Gordon is known to have the ability to turn mediocre players into winners as he did with Moroko Swallows and players like Chabangu.
Gordon was given a tough mandate mandate to reach the semifinals of the continental tournament and qualify for the 2014 Fifa World Cup and the win by Banyana Banyana against all odds will be a timely boost to the South African seniors team.
After four games at the helm, which included two wins and two defeats, Igesund said he was finding balance in the squad and had nearly finalised his Afcon group.
To couple that up, Bafana Bafana got an Africa Cup of Nations draw that could only be described as ideal. Gordon Igesund’s men open next year’s continental championships with a tie against Cape Verde at the FNB Stadium on January 19, a perfect fixture for a South African side desperate to make a good start to a tournament they host a second time.
Pressure will be on the team to emulate the Class of 1996 who won the trophy on home soil. The other teams in Bafana Bafana's group are Morocco and Angola.
Bafana have beaten Morocco twice, scoring an heroic 2-1 win in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, en route to reaching their second Nations Cup final under Sono.
So unlike Banyana Banyana , Bafana Bafana have an easier task, So here is to Bafana Bafana doing the country proud AFCON 2013 under Gordon (Someone give that man a bell)
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