2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Why FIFA Didn’t Dock South Africa Points - Former NFF President Explains

2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Why FIFA Didn’t Dock South Africa Points - Former NFF President Explains 

By Niyi Busari 

A former president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has defended FIFA’s decision not to deduct points from South Africa following their use of an ineligible player during a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Lesotho in March, 2025, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

In the match played earlier this year, South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena, who had accumulated two yellow cards in previous fixtures and was due to serve a one-match suspension, was named in the starting XI as Bafana Bafana secured a 2-0 win. The incident raised concerns among other teams in the group, with some calling for sanctions that could alter the standings in the tightly contested qualification series.

Despite expectations of disciplinary action, FIFA's official list of sanctions released on Monday did not include any penalties against South Africa.

According to the former NFF president, who spoke on condition of anonymity, FIFA’s stance is understandable given the procedural and administrative context surrounding the issue.

He cited the 2018 case involving Nigeria, when the Super Eagles were docked three points for fielding Shehu Abdullahi, who was also ineligible due to yellow card accumulation. In that instance, FIFA had issued a prior warning to the NFF regarding Abdullahi's status, which was reportedly missed by the then Secretary-General. Algeria, Nigeria’s opponent in that match, also submitted a formal protest to FIFA immediately after the game.

“In Nigeria’s case, FIFA had sent a warning, but the federation failed to act on it. Algeria also filed a formal complaint promptly. That made the penalty straightforward,” the former NFF boss explained.

He contrasted that situation with the current controversy involving South Africa, noting that no formal complaint was lodged with FIFA by Lesotho or any other team in the group within the stipulated time frame.

“Without a written protest, and with FIFA itself not having alerted South Africa beforehand about Mokoena’s suspension, it would be difficult for them to enforce a sanction without appearing culpable themselves,” he said.

The anonymous official added that FIFA would likely avoid issuing a retroactive punishment in a case where its own administrative oversight might have contributed to the error.

With just two matches remaining in the qualifiers, South Africa leads Group C with 17 points, followed by Benin with 14 and Nigeria on 11. Had FIFA penalized Bafana Bafana, they would have dropped to 14 points, bringing them level with Benin and significantly reshaping the race for the group’s sole automatic qualification spot for the 2026 World Cup.

The former NFF chief also criticized the current federation leadership for what he described as poor scheduling during Nigeria’s recent World Cup qualifying double-header.

“Nigeria played Rwanda at home on Saturday, then traveled that same night and arrived in South Africa on Sunday, trained only once on Monday and played on Tuesday. They had the option of hosting Rwanda on Thursday or Friday to allow more recovery time. That planning failure cost us dearly,” he lamented.