SAFA “closes” Bafana points deduction mess

President of the South African Football Association (SAFA), Danny Jordaan, says the Association has closed the matter that saw Bafana Bafana docked three points during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

FIFA penalised South Africa after they fielded a suspended Teboho Mokoena who wasn’t eligible to play the match against Lesotho in Polokwane in March 2025.

Although Bafana eventually qualified for the global showpiece to be held in North America next year, the deduction had a negative impact on the last two rounds of the qualifiers as Bafana dropped from first place in Group C and needed to overtake Benin, also relying on results elsewhere to go in their favour.

There have been growing calls for accountability, with team manager Vincent Tseka under pressure for failing to flag Mokoena’s ineligibility.

This is how Bafana Bafana team manager, Vincent Tseka REACTED after Bafana’s qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup! 🤫

Shhhhh… we are going to the World Cup! 🔥🙌🏼⚽️🇿🇦#AirMobile #ForTheBettor #CarlingKnockout pic.twitter.com/25bEK1TNIH

— SoccerBeat (@SoccerBeatZA) October 14, 2025

However, Jordaan told the media that SAFA is not going to dwell on the past but look ahead of the upcoming AFCON in Morocco in December this year and the World Cup next year.

“Well we are going to the World Cup so the matter is closed,” he said.

“We are not interested in the matter. We are going to the World Cup we’ve qualified and that’s where we go. We are not going to dwell on what is behind.

What is behind us is behind us, what is in front of us is a World Cup, is the African Cup of Nations, we’ve spoken,” he added.