Bafana Bafana betrayed: Administrative negligence costs our team dearly

THE PUSH by Bafana Bafana for a place at the 2026 World Cup has suffered a severe blow, primarily due to catastrophic carelessness on the part of administrators, plunging the team into unnecessary danger. 

South Africans watched with immense pride as the team delivered one of their best qualifying campaigns in 25 years, playing entertaining football under Hugo Broos. 

However, this hard work and resilience shown on the pitch have been catastrophically undermined by an administrative blunder beyond the players’ control.

The fiasco: Hard work undone by administrative failure

The issue stems from the FIFA Disciplinary Committee sanctioning the South African Football Association (SAFA) for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, in the World Cup Group C qualifier against Lesotho on March 21, 2025. 

FIFA declared that Mokoena “should not have been on the pitch”, ruling that SAFA breached article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and article 14 of the Preliminary Competition Regulations.

The consequence of this negligence was devastating: Bafana Bafana’s 2-0 victory over Lesotho was declared forfeited, resulting in a 3-0 defeat and the match being awarded to Lesotho instead. In addition to docking the national team three crucial points, SAFA was ordered to pay a fine of CHF 10,000 (about R215,000) to FIFA.

This costly setback instantly dropped Bafana Bafana from the top spot in Group C to second place, resting on 14 points behind Benin. Previously, the team's fate was in their own hands, but now they face the massive task of winning both remaining games and praying that other results go their way. 

The entire fiasco occurred because someone couldn’t keep track of yellow cards, meaning Mokoena’s ineligibility was not flagged internally.

SAFA must pay: Why heads must roll

According to IOL Sport’s Lunga Biyela, this monumental blunder demands that SAFA take full accountability. If South Africa misses out on the World Cup because of this administrative error, heads must roll – starting with SAFA president Danny Jordaan.

The crisis highlights profound failures within the governing body. The oversight resulting in the points deduction is seen as little wonder, given that SAFA is reportedly run "chaotically". Under the watch of Danny Jordaan, SAFA has been labelled a "laughing stock". Reports indicate the organisation is financially crippled, struggling to pay staff and players on time, and failing to secure robust sponsorships or broadcast income.

Furthermore, Jordaan and several executives were arrested less than a year ago on allegations of fraud, with that case still pending.

The failure to maintain simple checks, such as tracking a player's yellow card status, is highly criticised. The saddest reality is that the players themselves, who have displayed such resilience and poured everything into their campaign, now see their hard work undermined by an administrative error. This negligence is an insult and has resulted in a sanction they did not deserve.

Our administrators are demonstrably failing the teams who work so hard. Fans who were starting to fill the stadiums and dared to believe in Bafana Bafana's revival are now left wondering if the dream will be snatched away by incompetence at the top. SAFA is the mother body meant to protect and promote the national team, but instead, their actions keep dragging the team down.

For the sake of South African football, this failure cannot be dismissed as a minor error; the organisation desperately needs accountability, transparency, and serious reform from the top down.