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Cape Town - South African minister of sports and recreation Fikile Mbalula claims he was satisfied with the progress made by Bafana Bafana at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, despite their early exit from Group C.
Read: Saturday return for Bafana
Bafana displayed some enterprising football at the tournament but a failure to preserve their lead in all three of their group games left them at the bottom of the standings with just a point.
Shakes Mashaba's men lost 3-1 to Algeria in their opening game, before drawing 1-1 with Senegal and ending the tournament with a 2-1 defeat against Ghana.
Mbalula indicated that the tournament had provided a valuable learning platform for the players ahead of future competitions.
"We don't have to go back to the drawing board we need to consolidate our gains and build our national team," he said.
He also lauded hosts Equatorial Guinea for putting together a good competition.
"We want to show gratitude to our hosts Equatorial Guinea for a very successful tournament and the great hospitality.
“I think AFCON lived up to the expectations of the great African tournament," he added.
