FIFA breaks silence on Bafana Bafana’s World Cup qualification controversy

World football governing body FIFA appears to have given a seal of approval to Bafana Bafana as they bid to qualify for a first World Cup since 2010.

South Africa face Nigeria in a high stakes match at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Tuesday evening but ahead of the match, the talk has been about whether Bafana Bafana should be punished for fielding an ineligible player in a past match.

This stems from a mistake in March when midfielder Teboho Mokoena was fielded against Lesotho, when he should have been suspended for the contest, although the opposing team failed to file a complaint at FIFA within the stipulated time.

However, Lesotho have been insisting that FIFA needs to act, whether a complaint was made or not, and even threatened to report South Africa if Mokoena played against them last Friday.

What has FIFA said about Bafana Bafana?

Coach Hugo Broos, however, went ahead and played Mokoena, angering Lesotho further, with Nigeria also joining the chorus of complaints, but FIFA appears not bothered or not to have received any complaint, as they have confirmed that Bafana are in the clear with their latest social media update.

“Two more teams could secure @fifaworldcup 26 qualification today! Egypt will qualify if they beat Burkina Faso, while South Africa will qualify if they beat Nigeria, and Benin fail to beat Lesotho,” FIFA posted on X, all but confirming that there will not be any points deductions for Bafana Bafana.

South Africa lead Group C with 16 points, five more than Benin and six ahead of Nigeria after seven matches, and if they beat the Super Eagles in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, they could qualify for the World Cup, assuming Benin drop points against Lesotho on the same day.

Meanwhile, Nigeria must win to revive their hopes, adding spice to the highly billed clash between the two sides.