SEDIBENG.- The festive holidays are over, and it is back to business.

There were positive developments during the festive season in local football.

Apart from the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the Pooe Festive Tournament in Morocco, the Pooe Festive Tournament kept local soccer fans busy during the holidays in Evaton. It was action galore throughout the festive season, with local soccer fans enjoying Kasi football while the PSL teams were on break due to AFCON.

This is one of the most popular tournaments in Gauteng.

This tournament is regarded as a great advert for Kasi football, with youngsters showcasing their talent with the hope of being spotted by scouts. No doubt, this year’s tournament standard was at the highest level. Zakes’ Sports Corner witnessed some of the exciting talent that can easily walk into any PSL team’s starting lineup.

It was talent galore to say the least, football from heaven.

Back to AFCON, two local boys, Relebohile Mofokeng and Tshepang Moremi, were part of the Bafana Bafana team.

Ironically, Bafana Bafana were eliminated from the tournament by Cameroon on Sunday. To make it interesting, Moremi scored his first AFCON goal when South Africa beat Zimbabwe 3-2 in the group stages. However, Mofokeng only played one game in the tournament against Cameroon. Much was expected from Mofokeng before the tournament, with everyone talking about him. But Hugo Broos had other ideas and benched him.

Due to pressure from supporters, Broos was “forced” to play Mofokeng against Cameroon, but this didn’t help as Bafana Bafana were booted out of the tournament. Broos was under criticism from South African fans for sidelining Mofokeng. As if this was not enough, Broos was also criticised for not selecting certain players. It will be interesting to see if Broos will still be Bafana Bafana’s coach after this AFCON.

Many have started to call for his head!

Back home, Siyabonga Mbongo, who recently featured in Sedibeng Ster Sport, has been signed by Mamelodi Sundowns.

This also took place during the festive holidays. So, with Pooe Festive Tournament coming to an end and Bafana Bafana out of AFCON, it is back to reality.

Zakes Sports Corner wishes all its readers a HAPPY and PROSPEROUS New Year.

It’s back to reality!