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| Bafana Bafana |
But worse still, the
Fifa ranking system leaves Bafana precariously placed and pursuing what is tantamount to a hiding to nothing in the circumstances, with failure in Chan resulting in a further slide down the ladder.
Any defeat suffered by Bafana in the tournament will result in no ranking points being awarded for the fixture — bringing down the percentage of points for games over the stipulated period of four years even further.
Bafana’’s prospects of securing points in Chan are also diluted by the fact that most of the nations participating are modestly placed in the ranking process — and points earned are dependant on the strength of the opposition.
The best scenario open to Bafana is to win the tournament and beat Ghana, at 24th the highest ranked side, somewhere along the way.
But ironically, even this eventuality would gain only a marginal improvement to Bafana’’s ranking.
However, Bafana coach Gordon Igesund says it remains vital to cement a winning culture in Chan, provide valuable experience in team-building and gain a measure of prestige in Africa that success will achieve.
At the same time, the recently elected regime at Safa under president Danny Jordaan are looking to the tournament to boost its credibility, with a success on home soil vital in this respect.
Bafana open the tournament at the Cape Town Stadium against Mozambique on Saturday at 6pm, with the other teams in the group, Nigeria and Mali, completing a double header programme.
Source : sportlive.co.za
Tags : chan, bafana ,fifa rankings ,2014,
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