Bafana Bafana in limbo after administrative bungle despite outstanding results in World Cup qualifiers

Rachid Moumini of Benin and Lyle Foster of South Africa during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Qualifier match between Benin and South Africa at Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. (Photo by Ange Gnacadja/Gallo Images)

By Yanga Sibembe

26 Mar 2025

South Africa’s senior men’s soccer side are anxiously awaiting a Fifa ruling after fielding an ineligible player in their win over Lesotho.

Bafana Bafana headed into the latest round of 2026 Fifa World Cup qualification in second place, trailing first-placed Rwanda on goal difference. Two victories later, the South Africans occupy the summit of Group C with 13 points to second-placed Rwanda’s eight.

A 2-0 victory over Lesotho in Polokwane on Friday, followed by a win over Benin in Ivory Coast by the same scoreline, helped South Africa seize control of their group.

Bafana Bafana are bidding to book their ticket to the next edition of the soccer showpiece, which will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico in just over a year from now.

Looming sanction

Despite their impressive showings against Lesotho and Benin over the past week, the South Africans face uncertainty that may see their lead diminish significantly in Group C, with four matches still remaining.

Bafana Bafana fielded midfield maestro Teboho Mokoena against Lesotho on Friday, 21 March 2025. This despite the player being suspended after accumulating two yellow cards in the qualifiers — an automatic one-match ban. Mokeona’s two cautions came against Benin (in 2023) and Zimbabwe in mid-2024.

But Mokoena was present and called the shots in midfield as South Africa subdued their neighbours. Lesotho also missed this, until just before the Bafana versus Benin clash.

Under Fifa rules: “Protests must reach the Disciplinary Committee in writing, indicating the relevant grounds, within 24 hours of the end of the match in question. The 24-hour time limit cannot be extended.”

Bafana head coach Hugo Broos. (Photo: Philip Maeta / Gallo Images)

Motlomelo Mkhwanazi of Lesotho and Teboho Mokoena of South Africa at New Peter Mokaba Stadium. (Photo: Philip Maeta / Gallo Images)

However, whether or not a team lodges a protest, Fifa can itself take action. There are past examples of world soccer’s governing body doing exactly that, including when Fifa docked three points from Nigeria during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

The Super Eagles had fielded defender Shehu Abdullahi during a 1-1 draw with Algeria, despite the fact he had collected two yellow cards from previous matches. The result was overturned and the Algerians were awarded a 3-0 victory for the oversight. Algeria did not lodge a protest.

South Africa are likely to face a similar fate, an outcome that would significantly slash their lead. If they benefit from South Africa’s administrative bungle, Lesotho would move to nine points on the log table — and be one point behind South Africa.

“I won’t comment on that. It is something that will be resolved in the coming weeks. So, you shouldn't expect anything from me. No comment,” Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos said when asked about the matter after the win over Benin.

Strides made

The no-nonsense coach will be seething about the prospect of his team losing precious points due to an administrative oversight. But the Belgian chose to focus on how well his team performed to consolidate their provisional five-point lead with the win over Benin — a match from which Mokoena was dropped.

“We did a good analysis of the opponent, so congratulations to our analysts. Secondly, the players did what we asked of them. We knew where we could be dangerous against this team of Benin,” Broos said.

“It is a good team, but what we did well is keeping the ball and waiting for the right moments. In the first half, Benin could do something. But in the second half, they got tired and it started to be easy. We could score. I said to the bench and my assistant that if we score once we will win the game. It was like that. We dominated the game and we deserved to win,” he said.

The latest victory means that Bafana Bafana last lost a game in 2023, when they were vanquished by Rwanda. They were eliminated on penalties by Nigeria in the semifinals of the previous edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, but the 1-1 draw that led to the spot-kicks showdown is the officially recorded score.

Rachid Moumini of Benin, right, and Lyle Foster of South Africa during the 2026 Fifa World Cup, Qualifier at Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. (Photo: Ange Gnacadja / Gallo Images)

It’s a magnificent turnaround by Broos and his technical team since they took over four years ago. They have turned Bafana Bafana from being a joke on the African continent, to a being team that others respect.

Well, when the administrators are not undoing Broos’s magnificent repair work by not doing their jobs, that is.

Nevertheless, the 72-year-old is proud of the strides made under his watch.

“It was not easy in South Africa in the first year; there were a lot of problems. But we went on to look for the right players for the right positions. We found them, and now we have a very good team. We can change players without our level decreasing. We are strong,” Broos stated.

“We are not afraid anymore of who plays against us. The only thing we have to do is work hard like we have done until now, without thinking that everything is already done. We are in a good position now. With the group that we have and if we do not do stupid things, we are very close to World Cup qualification,” the Belgian said.

Regardless of the outcome of the Mokeona debacle, Bafana Bafana’s qualification quest remains firmly in their hands. They need only continue doing what they have done up to this point, and they will head off to North America to play in their first World Cup since 2010. DM

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Looming sanction

Strides made