Ignorance of Caf rules trips up BafanaBafana

Pitso Mosimane got one thing right on Saturday night. He said he felt like he had failed the nation as Bafana Bafana missed out on qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Yes, Pitso, you did exactly that. You failed the nation, simply through a lack of professional planning.

There was confusion on Saturday night after South Africa and Sierra Leone drew in Nelspruit and South Africa finished at the top of Group G.

But South Africa did not qualify. The rules of the Confederation of Africa Football stipulate that in case of equal points between two or more teams, after all the group matches, the ranking of the team shall be established according to the following criteria: greater number of points obtained in the matches between the concerned teams. Three teams in Group G finished jointly on nine points hence the Confederation of African Football (Caf) stipulation came into play.

Niger qualified by virtue of a better head-to-head record, having beaten Sierra Leone and Bafana Bafana, while South Africa boasted only a single victory over Niger.

"I'm confused. Just have a look at the table of the group now and see who is top of the group," Mosimane told www.supersport.com.

"Put points on the table now and tell me, are you going to put Niger on top now, even with our better goal difference?

"It's very sad for South Africa because the country deserves to be in next year's Afcon. I feel like I have failed."

Mosimane, having heard Egypt were leading Niger in a simultaneous fixture in Cairo, said he had changed his game plan, introducing midfielders Reneilwe Letsholonyane and Oupa Manyisa in the second half as they targeted a draw and the point they thought they needed.

"Do you think I would have left [Lehlohonolo] Majoro on the bench and put on a midfielder if I knew that we needed a goal? It doesn't make sense," Mosimane said.

He also lashed out at Caf, the continental football governing body, for the poor state of football, and what he deemed poor organisation, in Africa.

"Africa is a jungle, my friend," Mosimane said.

"The European and South American formats are so much better because everything is running smooth, but it's very difficult to play in Africa,” Mosimane told www.supersport.com.

Instead of lashing out at Caf, Mosimane should stand down as coach of Bafana Bafana. It would be the honourable thing to do.

As a professional football coach, it is his duty to be fully aware of the rules. Had he phoned the headquarters of Caf to make sure about the implications if Bafana Bafana drew, he would have known that he needed a win and would have changed his game plan.

Why blame Caf when the person to blame is Mosimane himself?

What would Sir Alex Ferguson or any other top coach have done in preparation for the game? The first thing they would have done, is to familiarise themselves with the professional rules and the different possible scenarios.

You surely cannot assume anything at this level. By attacking Caf, Mosimane diverted attention away from himself, attempting to hide his own acknowledgement that he did not know the rules, and that he erroneously used the wrong game plan. That shocking admission should be enough for Mosimane to resign as Bafana Bafana coach.

And if he does not step down, he should be forced to fall in his sword.

At the start of the qualifying campaign for the Africa Cup of Nations, everything was in Mosimane’s favour, including an impressive home win against one of the heavyweights of African soccer, Egypt.

But then everything went haywire as South Africa continued their dismal away record in international soccer.

South Africa should have won the game instead of drawing 0-0 against Sierra Leone in Nelspruit. South Africa lacked the firepower in front of the goal mouth, while the passing game from the midfield to the edge of the box was again not on par.

Some big guns will be missing in next year’s Africa Cup of Nations, including Nigeria and Egypt. In fact, Tunisia is the only one of the last of nine African champions to reach next year’s continental showpiece.

It was the first time since 1994 that the Golden Eagles, Nigeria, did not qualify.

Ibrahima Diallo's late equaliser in Abuja saw Guinea rally for a 2-2 draw against Nigeria.

In a dramatic penultimate day of qualifying for the African Cup, Mali, Guinea, Zambia, Niger, Ghana and Angola went through as group winners and Libya clinched one of the two spots for the best second-placed teams.

Despite a 3-0 loss to Egypt, Niger qualified for the first time.