Hugo Broos downplays Congo’s internal issues before AFCON qualifiers

Reports emerged from Congo last week that Fecofoot was in trouble, a Congo-Brazzaville squad was yet to be announced. 

READ: Selaelo Rasebotja reacts to Orlando Pirates’ CAF CL draw

This came after the government, through military forces, removed Fecofoot staff from offices.

With the first game against Bafana set for Friday in Gqeberha, there have been concerns about Congo’s state of readiness, but Broos says they are minding their own business.

''I heard that those are the things that happened in Brazzaville. What can we do, we play Friday here at home against Congo, and after that we will see, so let's focus on the Friday game and focus on the victory.  But at the end it is on the pitch not the things that happen outside. It is not our problem, it is the problem of the Congolese team - let's see what happens in the next weeks,'' said Broos.

It’s also been reported that on the eve of an extraordinary general assembly of Fecoot this past Saturday in Brazzaville with representatives from FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in attendance, the Fecofoot Congress was stopped from commencing. There appears to be an ongoing dispute between the Congolese Sports Ministry and Fecofoot officials.

Congo also had a mixed start to their latest AFCON qualifiers campaign.

They won 1-0 at home to South Sudan but lost 2-0 to Uganda on the road. 

Broos knows them very well from his time in Central Africa with Cameroon.

''Congo is more of a technical team, not a powerful team that plays football,  but it doesn't mean they are bad. You have seen the past results were not positive, and we don't have to make them feel there's a chance to get a point here. But we don't underestimate an opponent like this, for us we need to play our game and if we can succeed that and have a right mindset. We will have to report and that will depend on our performance,'' added Broos.

Broos has reiterated that he wants to see the real Bafana Bafana in the two matches against Congo, unlike what he saw in the opening two matches of the AFCON qualifiers against Uganda and South Sudan, respectively.

The Belgian born coach is raising the importance of guarding against complacency.

''We saw what happened in the last two years, I said what a mentality in this group, I was happy with them. But also on my side maybe I was not sharp enough and I had to react earlier because I saw things. For a moment there is nothing happening. You saw the draw against Uganda and win against Sudan with luck and it could have been worse, and it was a wake up call for us. It is up to us now, to go back to basics and see again the South Africa we knew from the last times,'' he expressed.

When Bafana Bafana did well at the recent AFCON in Côte D’Ivoire, returning with a bronze medal, this was all down to a good mentality from the team, according to Broos.