Bafana Bafana realise World Cup dream despite Safa botches

“What does not kill you makes you stronger” will probably be Bafana Bafana’s mantra for the duration of their 2026 Fifa World Cup campaign. Coach Hugo Broos and his men are at the 23rd edition of the quadrennial soccer spectacle despite a number of hurdles, some of which were created by the ineptitude of the South African Football Association (Safa).

As the only African country to host a soccer World Cup to date, South Africa will always draw attention. However, thanks to Safa’s incompetence, the spotlight has not been on the group of players and coaches who successfully orchestrated Bafana Bafana’s return to the global stage after the historic 2010 World Cup on African soil. And to the country’s embarrassment, the latest example of Safa botching basic administrative matters was reported far and wide.

The team were scheduled to travel to Mexico on Sunday, 31 May, to acclimatise to the conditions in Mexico, where they will be based. Their first game – against their hosts – is scheduled for 11 June. However, they could not travel as planned because Safa had botched the visa application process, leaving them grounded. They managed to depart the next day.

This World Cup debacle is not the first time that Safa has hampered Bafana Bafana’s World Cup dream. In September 2025, South Africa were sanctioned by world soccer governing body Fifa for illegally fielding Teboho Mokoena in a World Cup qualifier against Lesotho.

Midfield maestro Mokoena should have sat out the match because of two yellow cards he had accumulated in previous matches of the 2026 qualification campaign. But someone in Safa had forgotten to count the team’s yellow card haul.

As a consequence of the amateurish oversight, Broos’s troops were docked three points and relegated to second spot in their qualifying group because of the 3-0 retrospective forfeit to Lesotho. This all happened with two qualifying games remaining. The setback left the players having to dig deep to reach their dream.

Internally, fingers were pointed at team manager Vincent Tseka, and this has also been the case with the visa bungle. As a result, there has been considerable outrage among fans and commentators that he wasn’t sacked immediately.

In contrast to what Bafana Bafana have endured, the Springboks have participated in eight Rugby World Cups and won four in the ­democratic era – without SA Rugby getting caught offside with regard to basic administrative issues. Unlike reactive Safa, the rugby federation is always ahead of the curve, ensuring that all paperwork is in order well ahead of time.

The same is true for Cricket South Africa. The organisation has admittedly made mistakes, such as the recent furore it caused over a limited number of tickets for locals ahead of an electric Proteas summer during which both the men’s and women’s teams will host high-­profile opponents. Re­­gardless, when it comes to most ad­­ministrative issues, the cricket federation knows the sweet spot and reduces the pressure placed on the players ahead of major tournaments.

Uphill battle for Bafana Bafana

Bafana Bafana will surely hope that their troubles are finally over and that administrative incidents that threaten to derail all their hard work on the field will not be repeated during the World Cup. As it is, they face an uphill battle in a competitive group A at the tournament, which runs from 11 June to
19 July.

A battle against cohost Mexico and tough tests against Czechia (18 June) and South Ko­­rea (25 June) await the team, and any further off-field distractions could harm their performance.

The opening match against the Mexicans will be especially tough as it will be played at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, one of the most storied venues in soccer history.

South Africa’s opponents are sure to regard the team as a disorganised bunch, which will fuel their belief that they can beat Broos’s men.

The South Africans meeting the Mexicans presents a moment in which history intertwines beautifully with the present. On 11 June 2010, the two nations faced each other in the World Cup’s opening match, which delivered a 1-1 draw.

Former Kaizer Chiefs winger Siphiwe Tshabalala netted the strike, etching his name in the annals of history as the first player to score in the maiden African instalment of soccer’s biggest showcase.

“That was always going to be the biggest goal in my career, no matter what came after, because it touched so many lives and brought joy to so many people. I’ll always love it – it’s beautiful. But the goal is bigger than me as an individual,” Tshabalala told Fifa.com in 2020. “Although it happened years ago, it still feels like yesterday because I get reminders and messages from people about it every single day. It’s very humbling. That goal was special at the time; it’s special today. And for me and a lot of other people, it will be special forever.”

History repeats itself

In Mexico, 16 years later to the day, Bafana Bafana players will be looking to draw inspiration from that moment to silence the thousands of Mexicans who will be packed into the Azteca to support their team.

It will not be an easy task, as the El Tri are fiercely competitive, especially on the World Cup stage. Mexico will arrive at their World Cup on home soil carrying an uneasy mixture of excitement, pressure and a need to reconnect with themselves.

Cohosting the tournament alongside the US and Canada spared them the grind of the long qualifying campaign that Bafana Bafana went through, but it also removed the chance to build a competitive rhythm heading into the showpiece.

This means they will have an extra point to prove against all their rivals in group A, while carrying the additional burden of being cohosts.

In 2010, South Africa became the first host nation to be eliminated in the group stage. They have since been joined on this wall of shame by Qatar, which hosted the 2022 World Cup. In fact, the Qataris lost all their matches, becoming the first country not to earn a single point while staging the tournament. Mexico, Canada and the US will all be hoping to avoid a similar embarrassment in 2026.

The Azteca Stadium effect

The Azteca Stadium, which opened in 1966, is where the legendary Pelé cemented his status in 1970 by winning his third World Cup with Brazil. The forward remains the only player, man or woman, to win the tournament three times.

The Azteca was also the scene of one of soccer’s most controversial moments when Argentina beat England 2-1 in a 1986 World Cup quarterfinal. Another soccer great, Diego Maradona, “scored” Argentina’s first goal using his hand, which the match officials missed. In the current age of the video assistant referee, such a stunt – dubbed “the hand of God” – would not succeed.

Four minutes later, Maradona scored what is considered to be the greatest goal in World Cup history, clinching the game for his team.

Coincidentally, that Argentinian team went on to defeat a Belgian side that featured Broos. Before he became a no-nonsense, straight-talking coach, Broos was an adept defender. One of his career highlights is playing at that 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Belgium reached the semifinals of the tournament, and Broos appeared three times as they marched to the last four standing. They were downed in the semifinal by Maradona’s Argentina, who became the winners of the world title.

“I’ve said it before, but this is my last job as a coach,” Broos said during Bafana Bafana’s qualification campaign. “I’m 73 years old and I won’t be going on until I’m 80. So, [going to the World Cup] would be a nice way to stop. I’m really motivated to achieve that, as is my team. Not many coaches have an opportunity to do that [play and coach in a World Cup]. So, it would be the right moment to stop.”

A successful World Cup campaign for South Africa, with the minimum target being a first-ever qualification for the knockout stage, would be just reward for the Belgian ­tactician.

In his five years at the helm, he has worked tremendously hard to reshape South Africans’ negative view of Bafana Bafana, compared with their respect for other national teams such as the Proteas and Springboks.

The team have gone from being the punchline of jokes at family braais – because of numerous major tournament qualification failures – to reaching three successive major tournaments under Broos and his technical team. At the 2026 World Cup, this crop of players can add to their legacy by achieving something special, despite all the off-field Safa shenanigans. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.