The South African Football Association (SAFA) has been sanctioned by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee after fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, during the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ preliminary qualifier against Lesotho on March 21, 2025.
In its ruling, FIFA found that SAFA had breached Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) as well as Article 14 of the World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition Regulations, leading to what it described as a “clear violation of the eligibility rules.”
As a result, FIFA has:
- Forfeited the match in favour of Lesotho, awarding the Likuena a 3-0 victory.
- Imposed a fine of CHF 10,000 (approximately N20 million / R200,000) on the South African Football Association.
- Issued a formal warning to the player in question, Teboho Mokoena.
Meanwhile, the disciplinary ruling, which was officially communicated to the concerned parties today, remains subject to further legal processes. Under FIFA’s disciplinary framework, SAFA has ten days to request a “motivated decision”. If such a request is made, the full reasoning will be published on FIFA’s legal platform, legal.fifa.com. The sanction may also be challenged before the FIFA Appeal Committee.
The decision could have significant consequences for South Africa’s World Cup qualifying campaign, as the forfeited match points strengthen Lesotho’s standing in Group B and place additional pressure on Bafana Bafana to recover in subsequent fixtures.
While FIFA did not disclose the precise nature of Mokoena’s ineligibility, such rulings typically stem from issues such as suspensions, improper registration, or incomplete administrative clearance.
The South African Football Association is yet to issue an official response to the ruling. However, football analysts expect the governing body to either contest the decision through an appeal or accept the sanction and focus on damage control as the qualifiers intensify.
With the sanction, FIFA has once again underscores its’ tough stance on regulatory compliance, particularly in high-stakes competitions such as the World Cup qualifiers, where administrative oversight can drastically alter the fate of national teams.
