Bafana Bafana fans across the country have been dealt a major blow after it was confirmed that the national team’s AFCON Qualification clash against Sao Tome and Principe won’t be televised.
Bafana Bafana are due to face Sao Tome and Principe in their fourth AFCON Qualifier this afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in Port Elizabeth however fans across the country will not be able to view the game.
Cash strapped South African broadcaster, the SABC, confirmed that the crunch AFCON qualifier will not be broadcasted on national television after they failed to reach an agreement with CAF.
SABC fail to reach agreement with CAF over Bafana Bafana coverage
With kick-off scheduled to get underway at 15:00 at the Nelson Mandela stadium, South African fans that planned on watching the national team on television will now have to brace themselves for disappointment.
“Caf wanted to fleece us for a huge amount of money we can’t afford to spend,” SABC Sport Director Gary Rathbone told Citizen.
“We are busy with a Section 189 process. The game was originally offered through Safa as host broadcasters, but then CAF stepped in and said ‘you can’t do that because the rights belong to CAF, and here is a huge fee you need to pay to get the game.’ Every time they (CAF) whack us and money pours out, this time we had to say ‘sorry, the money is no longer pouring out’.
“It was a ridiculous figure, considering the game is happening here and we were prepared to be the host broadcaster. Right now we have jobs at risk at the SABC and we can’t afford to be handing out huge amounts of money for a single match.”
Molefi Ntseki’s Bafana Bafana require nothing less than a victory against their lowly ranked opposition to keep their 2021 AFCON campaign on track. The good news for fans however is that this website will be providing live updates from the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium.
