JOHANNESBURG (AP) – The South African Football Association said it will appeal FIFA’s ruling that the men’s national team took the victory by fielding unqualified players at the 2026 World Cup.
Monday’s FIFA ruling overturned a 2-0 victory over Lesotho in March as a 3-0 loss by default knocked South Africa out of the top spot in the qualifying group that finishes in two weeks.
Safa had no chance to hold a legal argument with the single FIFA judge who decided the case, but that argued in a statement late Monday.
“As a Safa, we are deeply disappointed by this unprecedented outcome,” Tebojo Mokoena said, admitting that after getting the yellow card in the previous two games, they should not play against Lesotho. Two warnings activate 1 game ban.
“We apologise to the state for this management surveillance and look back on the measures to take at the end of the qualifying campaign,” added Safa.
The appeal process is set to overlap with the final game, which will face Zimbabwe on October 10th and Rwanda in four days.
Appeal Procedure
Safa said it sought written reasons to explain the ruling to file a formal appeal with FIFA within 10 days of obtaining the document. Further appeals are possible at the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Benin is currently leading the group on goal differences and is tied to South Africa at a point. The Nigeria and Rwanda trails are 3 points, with everyone playing two games.
Benin and Rwanda have never competed in the World Cup, South Africa has not been one since hosting the 2010 edition, and Nigeria has been the last in 2018.
Who will move forward and where?
Only the winners of the group on October 14th will be direct and replace the first 48-team World Cup co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. December 5th Tournament Draw In Washington, DC.
The group’s runner-up will be able to advance to the four-team African playoff bracket in November. This will determine which African teams will advance to the intercontinental playoff bracket they played in North America in March.
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