Bafana have raised their levels while Safa continue to fumble

South African football is once again in crisis — not because of the players, but because of those who are meant to serve them. 

Fifa’s three-point deduction for fielding Teboho Mokoena while he was suspended, has dragged Bafana Bafana back into a familiar mess. And while team manager Vincent Tseka must shoulder responsibility, it would be dangerously simplistic to make him the sole scapegoat.

The hard truth is that Bafana have lifted their game under Hugo Broos. This is a team that reached the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, pushing Nigeria all the way in a penalty shootout. 

In World Cup qualifying, they have been consistently competitive, winning crucial matches home and away and positioning themselves strongly in Group C. The players have responded to Broos’ methods with discipline, belief and resilience — in many ways proving the critics wrong.

Contrast that with the leadership above them. Safa’s administration has once again let the nation down at the exact moment the team had raised its levels. 

The Mokoena blunder is not just an unfortunate oversight; it is a symptom of systemic negligence. Tseka is paid to track suspensions, yes, but he is not alone in the structure. 

Every Bafana camp produces reports and debriefs compiled by a wider technical and administrative team. If no one flagged that Mokoena was carrying two bookings, then the failure belongs to the entire chain of command, not one individual.

Some have argued that Mokoena’s yellow cards were “too far apart” to remember — the first came in 2023 before a string of AFCON qualifiers and an AFCON tournament, while the second was in March this year. 

That may explain why it slipped through the cracks, but it cannot justify it. 

International football is unforgiving; detail is everything. To miss something this fundamental is simply inexcusable. And if the story feels familiar, that’s because it is. South Africa have been here before. 

In 2011, players danced on the pitch after a draw against Sierra Leone, believing they had qualified for AFCON 2012. 

Safa officials had misread the rulebook, thinking goal difference was the tiebreaker, when CAF actually used head-to-head. The celebrations turned to humiliation when the truth emerged — South Africa had failed to qualify.

Now, more than a decade later, administrative blunders have once again overshadowed progress. Instead of celebrating Bafana’s improved performances, the conversation is about paperwork and suspensions. 

Instead of praising Broos’ team for competing toe-to-toe with Africa’s best, the nation is left fuming at officials who have cost the side three priceless points.

The irony is stark: on the pitch, Bafana are moving forward. Off it, SAFA is dragging them back. The players have raised their standards, but the administrators have not kept pace. If qualification for the 2026 World Cup is still to be achieved, SAFA must show the same professionalism, focus and accountability that Broos has demanded from his squad.

Bafana have done their part. The question is whether Safa can finally do theirs.

At the moment, it remains highly unlikely.