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Fans: Don't fire Igesund!

Cape Town - Sport24 readers say Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund should not take the blame if Bafana fail to qualify for the 2014 Soccer World Cup.

Bafana's hopes of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup suffered a serious blow when they lost 2-1 to Ethiopia, in their World Cup qualifier at the National Stadium in the capital Addis Ababa.

South African dreams of going to the World Cup were crushed, until FIFA later revealed that Ethiopia were under investigation for fielding an ineligible player earlier on in the competition, and could suffer a three-point penalty as a result.

Should Ethiopia be found guilty, it would be mathematical possible for Bafana to qualify, provided they win their last qualifier against Botswana (September 7) and Ethiopia draw or lose their final remaining fixture against the Central African Republic.

When Igesund signed on as Bafana coach, experts said he was being handed a poison chalice as he was given two objectives that he had to fulfill in order to keep his job: He had to lead Bafana to the semi-finals of this year's African Cup of Nations, and he had to earn qualification for the 2014 World Cup.

South Africa exceeded expectations in the Africa Cup of Nations, but were knocked out in the quarter-final phase, losing to Mali in a penalty shoot-out.

Qualification for the World Cup in Brazil was a difficult task for Igesund as, when he took over from former Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane, Bafana only had two points from their first two fixtures - a draw from a crucial home game against Ethiopia, and an away draw against Botswana.

Igesund managed a home and away win against the Central African Republic, before suffering defeat against Ethiopia in a closely-contested game.

Unless FIFA penalise Ethiopia, according to Igesund's contract, he will have failed in both of the requirements of his mandate.

Yet despite Igesund not fulfilling his mandate, fans have rallied behind the coach.

In Sport24's online poll, a massive 83 percent of voters believed Gordon Igesund should remain as Bafana coach.

Sport24 asked:

"Should SAFA fire Igesund if Bafana's fail to qualify for the 2014 Soccer World Cup in Brazil?"


These were the results:

83% - No
17% - Yes


This is what Sport24 readers had to say about Gordon Igesund:

"Give him a contract until the 2018 World Cup Tournament."
- Tsietsie Mshengu

"This man is the best coach we ever had in our national team history." - Livo Naledi

"Let's have continuity for once."
- Kgotos Maxwell Naredi

"He was simply given a daunting mammoth task to make race horses out of donkeys." - Zakhele Nkosi

"Pitso had already laid a shaky foundation when Gordon Igesund arrived, to set him up for failure." - Ta V Dioka

"Gordon should have been given a chance a long time ago.To fire Gordon would be a step backwards." - Marvin Enrique Bruiners

"Igesund is the MAN. He was cleaning Pitso 's mess which proved to be too high a mountain to climb for him." - Bothwell Dube

"There were lot of positivities during Gordon's era, and the team greatly improved." - Lebohang Melane

"SA would've lost even if it was Jose Mourinho himself who was coach, besides... it's not like were gonna make it past the group stages. We coudn't even do it in our own backyard!" - Vuyo Mpandle


Bafana fought bravely but were sunk by an unlucky own goal. (Gallo Images)

HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Igesund be fired after Bafana's loss against Ethiopia? Send your thoughts to Sport24!
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