Teboho Mokoena celebrates after scoring a goal Teboho Mokoena celebrates after scoring a goal during Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 football match against Morocco. Photo: Sia Kambou/AFP
Image: Sia Kambou/AFP
South Africans shouldn’t be shocked by the latest administrative blunder that now threatens Bafana Bafana’s World Cup qualification.
The revelation that Teboho Mokoena was ineligible for last week’s match against Lesotho — one that South Africa won 2-0 — only highlights the ongoing dysfunction within the country’s football structures. Instead of focusing on their progress in Group C, the team now faces the possibility of losing crucial points due to an avoidable oversight.
Mokoena received a yellow card in their opening match against Benin and another in the following match against Zimbabwe. According to FIFA’s regulations, a player who accumulates two yellow cards in separate matches must serve a one-match suspension. Mokoena should not have featured in the Lesotho encounter.
Bafana Bafana team manager Vincent Tseka should have picked it up and alerted Hugo Broos that Mokoena was not eligible. But, with the South African Football Association (SAFA) being so poorly run at the moment, who can blame him for missing it?
Just this morning, it was reported that SAFA’s financial woes have deepened to such an extent that the football association was unable to pay staff this month.
SAFA typically processes staff salaries on the 25th of each month. However, this time, employees were informed of a delay, with payments expected at a later date, IOL Sport reported earlier on Tuesday.
The notification was issued just a day before payday, coinciding with Bafana Bafana’s preparations for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Benin in Côte d’Ivoire.
In December of last year, sports minister Gayton McKenzie had to play Father Christmas and give the embattled federation a R5 million advance on their annual grant they receive from the government just so they could pay staff and players over the festive season.
Of course, this all comes on the back of SAFA president Danny Jordaan’s arrest for corruption.
It is alleged that between 2014 and 2018, Jordaan used the organisation's bank accounts for his personal use, including hiring a private security company for his protection, and a public relations company without authorisation from the SAFA Board.
With so much dysfunction at SAFA, it’s no wonder that Mokoena’s yellow cards were missed, and the team’s participation at the 2026 World Cup is now under threat.
If FIFA decides to enforce the rules strictly, South Africa could forfeit the three points gained against Lesotho, a devastating blow to their World Cup hopes. But beyond this immediate crisis, the bigger concern is the long-term decay within SAFA — an organisation plagued by financial mismanagement, corruption allegations, and administrative blunders.
Until real reforms take place, Bafana Bafana will continue to fight not just their opponents on the pitch, but the incompetence and chaos within their own federation.
IOL Sport
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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