PALM RIDGE, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 15: Danny Jordaan, the president of SAFA appear at Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court on August 15, 2025 in Palm Ridge, South Africa. It is reported that Jordaan and his co-accused, SAFA CFO Gronie Hluyo, face charges of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. It is alleged that Jordaan used the federation's resources for personal gain. (Photo by Gallo Images/OJ Koloti)
If Bafana Bafana’s players are dancing at Mbombela Stadium this evening then South Africa will probably have qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup finals.
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There is a note of caution here only because there has been dancing in Mbombela before that has not resulted in qualification for a major tournament.
Bafana’s mistakes
In 2011, Pitso Mosimane’s Bafana side celebrated a goalless draw against Sierra Leona at the same stadium, thinking they had qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. They had not, having misunderstood the rules.
Danny Jordaan told reporters at the team hotel after the game that the South African Football Association would be sending a letter of complaint to Fifa. This sort of Safa arrogance unfortunately hovers constantly over the game in this country, and Jordaan is a constant who hovers alongside it.
After Fifa finally deducted Bafana three points last month, for fielding an ineligible player – Teboho Mokoena – in their March 21 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho, Safa issued a statement.
They did apologise to the nation for the error, but clouded that by calling Fifa’s decision “unprecedented,” when it was the very definition of ‘precedented’.
A refusal to take any responsibility is a Jordaan trait as Safa president. When Jennifer Ferguson accused Jordaan of rape in 2017, Safa did not suspend their president.
Instead they held a press conference, with a panel made up exclusively of men, essentially rubbishing Ferguson’s allegation. Alongside it, a presentation was put on detailing all Safa have done for women’s football in this country, as if one remotely had anything to do with the other.
Jordaan is now on trial for embezzling R1.3 million from Safa, allegedly to pay for a public relations company and security services in the wake of Ferguson’s allegations.
Fifa lack morals
For an insight into the moral mess that is the global game, Jordaan has recently been appointed to the Fifa Men’s National Teams competitions committee that will oversee, among other tournaments, next year’s World Cup finals.
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Hugo Broos said before the draw with Zimbabwe on Friday that Bafana deserve to be at the World Cup. Purely on the pitch, they probably do, especially if they beat Rwanda this evening.
But Safa and particularly their president, frankly, deserve absolutely nothing.
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