South Africa’s bid to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has suffered a major blow after the country’s was sanctioned for fielding an ineligible player.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee ruled that midfielder Teboho Mokoena should not have taken part in the country’s qualifier against Lesotho in March 2025.
According to the football body, the South African Football Association (SAFA) violated Article 19 of the Disciplinary Code and Article 14 of the competition regulations. As punishment, the match has been forfeited, with Lesotho handed a 3-0 victory. In addition, SAFA has been fined R200,000, while Mokoena received a formal warning.
"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the South African Football Association (SAFA) for having fielded an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, in the South Africa v. Lesotho match played on 21 March 2025 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 preliminary competition, thereby breaching article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) and article 14 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition Regulations," a statement from FIFA website read.
"Consequently, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has declared the match in question to have been forfeited by the representative team of South Africa by a score of 3-0. SAFA has also been ordered to pay a fine of CHF 10,000 to FIFA, while Teboho Mokoena has been issued with a warning.
"The parties were notified of the terms of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision today. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the FDC, they have ten days in which to request a motivated decision, which, if requested, would subsequently be published on legal.fifa.com. The forfeiture decision remains subject to a potential appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee."
As a result, South Africa have dropped to second in Group C, level on points with leaders Benin Republic ahead of the decisive qualifiers in two weeks’ time.
Bafana Bafana will visit Zimbabwe on October 10th, while the Squirrels face Rwanda away on the same day.
