Does anyone at Safa know how to use the Internet?

This question has been  playing on  my mind   ever since it was announced that Bafana Bafana’s final friendly before the clash with Egypt next month will be against Kenya’s “Harambee Stars”. Burkina Faso’s decision to pull out of the match in Rustenburg  on Wednesday led to a desperate attempt to fill the void that finally settled on a team ranked 127th in the world.

First turned down by Libya, it seemed not to matter a jot that Zambia had already sent out invitations for their squad to assemble in Nairobi on Sunday as Safa proved that money still talks in international football. But as officials scrambled around  looking for a replacement, a cursory check of the amazing invention that has changed the world in the past two decades would have revealed that both Algeria and Tunisia had decided to cancel their friendly.

With both sides fitting the description of being quality opposition from north Africa that coach Pitso Mosimane had originally asked for, surely this was a golden opportunity for Safa to save some face? But, alas,  it wasn’t to be and we were instead left with the comical situation of president Kirsten Nematandani doing his best to pass the buck as officials admitted they had no knowledge of the development – even though it was widely reported on Wednesday evening.

Nematandani also tried to deny that the fixture against the Burkinabes had ever been made official, only to be forced into an embarrassing climb-down by a well-known journalist. Once again, a check of the mysterious worldwide web would have showed the president’s excuse was on thin ice as the fixture had been  clearly listed on Fifa’s own domain for nearly a month.

This level of incompetence would be funny if it wasn’t so serious.

What hope do Safa have of building a true legacy from the 2010 World Cup if they can’t even arrange a friendly match for the senior team?  The current administration came in promising widespread reforms to the game but have already sunk even lower than the previous incumbents. That’s quite a feat considering some of the clangers dropped by Safa in the past but, sadly, the trend shows no signs of ending.

- So local police say it wasn’t vandals who caused the abandonment of this afternoon’s Soweto derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Moroka Swallows at FNB Stadium.

The PSL had no choice but to rearrange the match after news of a power-surge at the 2010 World Cup final venue broke on Thursday evening. But with rumours that vandals were to blame quashed by police spokesman Gordon Billing yesterday, perhaps it was all down to a naughty Amakhosi fan who knew star striker Knowledge Musona would miss the game because of injury?