Molefi Ntseki's local-based Bafana qualify for Chan
Image: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Coach Molefi Ntseki's local-based Bafana Bafana have qualified for the African Nations Championship (Chan) for the first time since 2014 with their 2-0 victory against Malawi at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.
The South Africans lost the first leg in Lilongwe 1-0 so progress 2-1 on aggregate in the Confederation of African Football's (Caf) competition for local-based national teams.
The Bafana developmental side, consisting mostly of fringe players not being featured much recently at their Betway Premiership clubs, took the lead in the second leg and levelled the tie via TS Galaxy striker Victor Letsoalo's 12th-minute strike.
Maema's goal. SA 2 Malawi 0 pic.twitter.com/DVcIjI7ctI
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) May 11, 2025
The winner came from captain and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Neo Maema's close-range strike in the 87th.
Former Bafana senior team and Kaizer Chiefs coach Ntseki was roped in to take charge of the Chan squad because South Africa assistant coach Helman Mkhalele, who normally oversees games in the competition, had to be part of the front-line combination's World Cup qualifiers in the previous round.
Ntseki steered South Africa to beating Egypt 4-2 on aggregate in the first round of the second qualifier tournament.
🎙️ ℂ𝕆𝔸ℂℍ'𝕊 ℝ𝔼𝔸ℂ𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ 🎙️
🗣️ "𝚆𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚐 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙 - 𝚠𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗"
Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki after qualifying for the 2024 African Nations Championship finals! #SABCSportFootball #TotalEnergiesCHAN pic.twitter.com/wchBVQHTZm
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) May 11, 2025
South Africa initially withdrew from the Chan, which the country has generally regarded as not being worthy of time, effort and expenses to reach, but were coaxed back to the competition by a back door by the Confederation of African Football (Caf).
Nineteen teams had qualified for the tournament. After withdrawals by Tunisia and Libya Caf introduced a second qualifier tournament between seven 're-engaged' sides, including South Africa, to determine the final two slots.
The Chan is being hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in August.
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