a écrit le 6 juin 2013 à 12h20 Bafana Bafana’s preparations for their 2014 World Cup qualifier against the Central African Republic is back on track following their safe arrival at their base in Yaoundé, Cameroon at 23h15 local time on Wednesday. The squad had to endure a long and tiring five-hour road trip by bus after their connecting flight was cancelled.
The South African Senior Men’s National team had spent Tuesday night (04 June) in Douala, Cameroon following their cancelled connecting flight to Yaoundé where they will play the Central African Republic (CAR) in a 2014 World Cup Qualifier on Saturday, 8 June 2013.
The match kicks off at 15h00 local time in Cameroon (16h00 SA time).
Reasons given by authorities for the cancellation of the first flight was that it was not on schedule despite the fact that the South African Football Association (SAFA) had fully paid for the airfare.
Bafana Bafana were dealt another blow when their flight to Yaoundé on Wednesday afternoon was also cancelled. This time the explanation given was that the plane was stuck in Yaoundé and needed some fixing and would only be available at 22h00 at night.
National coach Gordon Igesund took the decision to take the squad on a road trip to avoid further delays as a lot of preparation time had been lost due to the first cancellation.
“Waiting at the airport for the next flight was not going to be an option as there were no guarantees that it would arrive, and we didn’t want to find ourselves stranded again in the middle of the night. So we had to think on our feet and make a move,†said Igesund.
“It is very frustrating to have to go through such, but I had warned the players that we should expect such things. But thank God we have arrived safely and the players are in high spirits. The saga is behind us and we don’t want to make any accusations. We must just look forward to our mission. At the end of the day we can’t look back, we can’t harp on this matter - life must go on. We are here to do a job and we will do it to the best of our ability,†said Igesund.
The South African Senior Men’s National team had spent Tuesday night (04 June) in Douala, Cameroon following their cancelled connecting flight to Yaoundé where they will play the Central African Republic (CAR) in a 2014 World Cup Qualifier on Saturday, 8 June 2013.
The match kicks off at 15h00 local time in Cameroon (16h00 SA time).
Reasons given by authorities for the cancellation of the first flight was that it was not on schedule despite the fact that the South African Football Association (SAFA) had fully paid for the airfare.
Bafana Bafana were dealt another blow when their flight to Yaoundé on Wednesday afternoon was also cancelled. This time the explanation given was that the plane was stuck in Yaoundé and needed some fixing and would only be available at 22h00 at night.
National coach Gordon Igesund took the decision to take the squad on a road trip to avoid further delays as a lot of preparation time had been lost due to the first cancellation.
“Waiting at the airport for the next flight was not going to be an option as there were no guarantees that it would arrive, and we didn’t want to find ourselves stranded again in the middle of the night. So we had to think on our feet and make a move,†said Igesund.
“It is very frustrating to have to go through such, but I had warned the players that we should expect such things. But thank God we have arrived safely and the players are in high spirits. The saga is behind us and we don’t want to make any accusations. We must just look forward to our mission. At the end of the day we can’t look back, we can’t harp on this matter - life must go on. We are here to do a job and we will do it to the best of our ability,†said Igesund.
