Thulani Hlatshwayo of South Africa looks disappointed after defeat in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Finals quarterfinal game between Nigeria and South Africa at Cairo International Stadium in Egypt on 10 July 2019 © Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
Bafana game against Ghana could still air on SABC
Both Supersport and the SABC are all in a last-minute push to broadcast the Afcon qualifier between Ghana and South Africa.
Thulani Hlatshwayo of South Africa looks disappointed after defeat in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Finals quarterfinal game between Nigeria and South Africa at Cairo International Stadium in Egypt on 10 July 2019 © Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
The vast majority of Bafana fans face missing out on the live action when their team takes on Ghana on Thursday night, but the South African Football Association (Safa) is trying to prevent that from happening, The Citizen reports.
The two nations begin their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with an encounter at the Cape Coast, but scores of South Africans will not be able to witness the action as things stand.
Last minute bid to bring Ghana vs Bafana to TV
This is after the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) partnership with French media company Lagardere came to an abrupt end, meaning Supersport would not be able to qualify any of the qualifiers.
However, according to Safa chief executive, Gay Mokoena, there are attempts being made to bring the game to the South African public.
Mokoena told the Citizen they are negotiating to have the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) air the match.
“It is still a work in progress,” said Mokoena.
“Caf is handling it. I spoke to the SABC today and they are also working on something. I am aware that Caf are speaking directly to SuperSport outside of the agreement with Lagardere. As we stand now, nobody is confirmed (to show the game), but I know the SABC is working hard, and SuperSport are working hard.
“We are trying our level best to make sure people get to watch the game.”
Gay Mokoena
South Africa blacked out of all Caf competition
The blackout extends to club football, as well as age-group competition.
This means that South Africans stand to not access the live broadcast of the Caf Champions League and Confederations Cup, where Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits are competing.
Supersport was also unable to air SA Under-23’s fixture against Ivory Coast in the Afcon Under-23 championship currently underway in Egypt.
In a statement issued out earlier in the week, the pay channel’s group executive for corporate affairs Joe Heshu said they were in a tough position with regards to the rights.
“We are in a difficult position where we cannot broadcast the Caf games when we don’t have a firm contractual arrangement in place. SuperSport had previously acquired these broadcast rights from Lagardere.”
Joe Heshu
South Africa play Ghana before returning home to host Sudan at Orlando Stadium four days later.
Kick off on Thursday is at 21:00 (SAST).
