South Africa’s World Cup hopes take major hit after FIFA strips win against Lesotho
FIFA’s disciplinary committee overturned Bafana Bafana’s 2-0 win from March, ruling that midfielder Teboho Mokoena should not have played as he was serving a suspension.
South Africa’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have taken a major blow after world football’s governing body, FIFA, sanctioned the team for fielding an ineligible player in a qualifier against Lesotho.
On Monday, FIFA’s disciplinary committee overturned Bafana Bafana’s 2-0 win from March, ruling that midfielder Teboho Mokoena should not have played as he was serving a suspension.
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Lesotho had lodged a formal complaint after Mokoena featured in the match. At the time, officials from the country’s football association said they only wanted FIFA to uphold its rules.
"Even if they just caution South Africa, it will be okay. If they give us the points, so be it," Lesotho Football Association Secretary General Mokhosi Mohapi said then, adding that any team would have expected the same outcome if the situation were reversed.
FIFA has now awarded Lesotho a 3-0 win, fined the South African Football Association (SAFA) 10,000 Swiss francs (about Sh1.6 million), and issued Mokoena with an official warning.
The ruling has reshaped the standings in Group C of African qualifying. South Africa, who had been leading, drop to second on goal difference behind Benin.
Only the nine group winners in Africa will secure direct qualification to next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The four best runners-up will enter a playoff for a potential spot via the intercontinental qualifiers.
The decision also offers renewed hope to Nigeria and Rwanda, who are just three points behind Benin and South Africa with two games left.
Both sides will back themselves to capitalise, especially with the final fixtures, set for October 10–14, pitting the group’s top contenders directly against one another.
Benin will travel to Rwanda before hosting Nigeria, while South Africa face Zimbabwe away and then Rwanda at home.
SAFA has 10 days to appeal the ruling, though such challenges rarely succeed once FIFA’s disciplinary committee has made its decision.
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