Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has voiced his strong disapproval of a last-minute change in accommodation arrangements, which he says disrupted the national team's preparation for their international friendly match against Zambia. The sudden switch has added unnecessary stress to the team's already tight schedule.
Hotel Hiccup: Overbooking Causes Frantic Scramble
Normally, Bafana Bafana sets up camp at the Southern Sun Hotel near OR Tambo airport. However, this time, they were forced to relocate to the NH Hotel in Sandton. Addressing the media at the NH Hotel, Broos explained the reason for the change: the original hotel was overbooked.
"The reason why we are here today is because Saturday morning we got a message, from the hotel where we usually go, that the booking was cancelled. Very nice news, two days before the camp," Broos said, clearly frustrated. "So, there was an overbooking and blah blah blah so Saturday morning it was up to us to find another hotel."
Training Ground Troubles
The accommodation change also had a knock-on effect on training facilities. Broos explained that they had to scramble to find a new training location. "Not only that, first of all we tried to find something in the region where we usually are not too far from Dobsonville but we couldn’t find a hotel. I think it is normal that two days before you come with 36 people that every hotel is available so we had to come this side and I was very happy that we could come here."
Fortunately, Ellis Park stepped in to provide a training venue. "But that meant we also had to look for other training accommodation, so I want to thank the people of Ellis Park for the availability of the stadium. So, we train in the next days until Thursday at Ellis Park. I know that the pitch is very good there, so I’m very happy but it was a little bit annoying and moment of being nervous when you have got, on Saturday morning, a message that the booking has been cancelled. But okay, all good and we are here now and in preparation for the friendly game on Saturday."
Despite the disruption, Broos remains focused on the upcoming friendly against Zambia. He hopes the team can put the off-field drama behind them and perform well on the pitch.