Johannesburg – February heralds the 20th anniversary of Bafana Bafana’s sole Africa Cup of Nations title.
In the two decades since, our national team, the pinnacle at which our footballing endeavours should be aimed, has plumbed considerable lows.
It has not again climbed to those heights on the field, even as the Premier Soccer League was growing into one of the most commercially viable competitions on the planet.
There was always a missing link, a loose bolt in the development chain, especially considering the strides that teams like the national under-17s and the under-20s have made at times.
Now, after years of to-ing and fro-ing, the South African Football Association (Safa) has gone to the man who lifted African football’s greatest prize, Neil Tovey and tasked him, as its new technical director, with realising the Vision 2022 that it has put in place.
“It’s a massive challenge,” Tovey acknowledged.
“Probably one of the biggest I’ve had.”
That coming from a man who has survived a heart scare is no small talk.
Like many former players concerned with the fortunes of South African football, Tovey is very serious about turning these around.
“I must just reiterate from the onset that I am not interested in Shakes Mashaba’s job with Bafana,” he said.
“My role is to try and add support, not just to Shakes, but to all the national coaches across the age groups, for men and women.”
In the few days that Tovey’s appointment has been public knowledge, there has been a huge wave of support for the former national captain.
But inevitably there have also been those who have cried foul, questioning the process followed in identifying Tovey as the best candidate.
“I’m not interested in politics or egos. I am here to work,” Tovey insisted.
“The people who have appointed me have their reasons, and all I want to focus on now is getting on with the job.”
As it is, Tovey will have to spend a considerable time on the road as he looks to get to the roots of the issues that continue to hold South African football back.
“We will be meeting football administrators and identifying what the problems are,” Tovey said.
We want to give them a base to work from, across all regions, and then make sure that we are all working towards a common goal.”
That goal, as ever, remains a strong Bafana team, one that is consistently performing and competing on the African stage (and the world) stage.
“Vision 2022 is real and it is also achievable. We first want our team to be back among the top teams in Africa, and then we will build on that.
“But first we have to make sure that we have the systems in place that allow us to have a strong under-17 team,
and then make sure that they go on to under-20, and under-23, because then your senior side takes care of itself.”
Continuity and consistency pop up regularly in Tovey’s answers.
He is adamant that without structure, South African football will continue to flatter to deceive.
“We have to make sure that we have top coaches across the ranks, for the professional and for the youth ranks. What is key is to develop a common mindset in these players from a young stage, so when they step up to an international stage, they are not overawed and can perform.
“To get that, we will need to train up these coaches, and then work hand-in-hand with high-performance centres that are being developed all over the country.”
As technical director, Tovey’s mandate includes making sure that all those streams are flowing into one pool of talent that will give Mashaba, and the national coaches below him, the cream of the crop to compete internationally.
For years, youngsters of promise couldn’t see through the maze in which they could start as a junior star and weave their way, eventually, to the Bafana ranks.
Tovey wants to make that path a lot clearer.
“Nothing would give me more pleasure than to have in, say, five years a system that has everyone going in the same direction – the right direction.
“I’m hugely motivated for this, and I want to do a good job because this game matters to so many people.”
Having touched the hearts of all those people almost 20 years ago, Tovey knows better than most what a winning Bafana can do for the good of the country. And, with that in mind, he knows just how much graft lies ahead.
But hc
“I’m excited. And very grateful for the opportunity. And the work starts now.”