Cape Town - Bafana Bafana are not among the 18 participating teams at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) but there was a strong South African presence at the opening ceremony in Algeria over the weekend.
The ceremony was at the new 40 000-seater stadium that has been named after the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela. In a suspenseful build-up, a video retraced the work of the global icon Mandela.
As the video was about to end, Zwelivelile 'Mandla' Mandela, the grandson of Madiba, walked into the stadium to rapturous applause from the 40 000 spectators who chanted 'Mandela, Mandela, Mandela ...'
Next to continue the South African presence, was Mzansi mining billionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe. In his address as the CAF (Confederation of African Football) president, Motsepe emphasized the role football plays in uniting the people of Africa.
🎙 | Le président de la CAF sur la non-participation du Maroc à la CHAN suite au refus des autorités algériennes.
— Joueurs Marocains 🇲🇦 (@JoueursMA) January 13, 2023
« Maintenant on va avoir un gros problème pour la prochaine CAN. [...] Il y a des règles à la CAF/FIFA, pas de politique dans le football. »pic.twitter.com/m8nlkSiZbt
The opening match followed after Algerian Prime Minister HE Aimene Benabderrahmane declared the tournament open. The South African referee Abongile Tom handled the match, that was won by hosts and title favourites Algeria, who edged Libya 1-0.
The CAF organising committee which will oversee the event includes Safa president Danny Jordaan, a former Fifa World Cup CEO. Jordaan will assist in the day-to-day running event and has loads of administration experience after working at eight World Cups and 14 Afcon tournaments.
Another South African, Luxolo September, is heading up CAF's media operations at the event.
For the first time, the number of participating teams has increased from 16 to 18 teams.