Safa's Mokoena bungle must not cloud Bafana's campaign

Illegally fielding Teboho Mokoena was a costly blunder that the SA soccer body could have avoided

- By Yanga Sibembe

South Africa is a country of great promise with a nation capable of excellence across many spheres, but it is plagued by corruption and gross incompetence. The saga involving Bafana Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena being fielded illegally in a 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier is the latest example of the latter.

The South African Football Association (Safa) and Bafana Bafana were sanctioned by soccer's world governing body on 29 September, after Mokoena played in a qualifier against Lesotho in March. Mokoena should have sat out the match because of the two yellow cards he had accumulated.

He received the first one in November 2023 against Benin, and his second caution came in June 2024 versus Zimbabwe. Under Fifa rules, this triggers an automatic one-match suspension.

However, neither Safa nor anyone in the Bafana Bafana technical team picked this up.

Appearing before Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture in June 2025, Safa said keeping such records was the primary responsibility of Bafana Bafana team manager Vincent Tseka.

As a consequence of the oversight, coach Hugo Broos's men were docked three points and relegated to second spot in their qualifying group. Their goal difference also took a major knock, getting slashed from a healthy +8 to just +3 because of the 3-0 retrospective forfeit to Lesotho.

This all happened with two qualifying games remaining. Only the top teams in each of the nine qualifying African groups are guaranteed to make it to next year's tournament, which will be held jointly in the US, Mexico and Canada.

Safa, in turn, was slapped with a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (R216,500) by Fifa. It's another smudge on the already ailing reputation of the custodian of South African soccer.