Bafana Bafana’s AFCON and World Cup preparations could be in jeopardy amid Safa chaos

Bafana Bafana are just weeks and months away from competing at the AFCON and the Fifa World Cup respectively, but such is the disarray at Safa that their preparations for both events could be in serious jeopardy.

Bafana brought euphoria across the country in the past few weeks by automatically qualifying for the global showpiece — which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada next June — for the first time since the 2002 edition.

But that joy seems to have been short-lived in Safa's plush offices in the south of Johannesburg. The fact that Bafana coach Hugo Broos, his assistant Helman Mkhalele, and controversial team manager Vincent Tseka cut a cake on Wednesday to celebrate their triumph is neither here nor there, honestly.

This week, it was reported that the financial challenges facing the association have mounted to the point that the top brass have been asked to take pay cuts ranging from 5% to 25%.

What’s even more worrying is that Broos has reportedly been asked to take a pay cut as well. That’s not only concerning — it’s embarrassing, given that Broos, if anything, deserves a pay raise after changing the image of Bafana over the past few years.

While it is the role of Minister of Sport Gayton McKenzie to ensure that sport functions in the country, it’s fast becoming a cause for concern that he has to repeatedly step in and save the day at Safa. Remember, it was just a few months ago that he allocated a R5 million advance to Safa to pay outstanding bonuses and salaries for players from both Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana.

McKenzie went on to reveal, in a podcast with Soccerbeat, that the advance he allocated to the association included covering the salaries of Broos and his assistant Mkhalele. And that’s worrying — given that they ought to be among the top earners on Safa’s payroll.

But it just doesn’t seem to matter where you sit on the payroll when it comes to Safa, does it? It wasn't so long ago that reports emerged of delayed payments to staff.

Banyana continues to be overlooked by Safa. They have started their bid to qualify for WAFCON and the 2027 Women’s World Cup without head coach Desiree Ellis, as she is yet to put pen to paper on a new deal — unable to agree on terms with the mother body for now.

Ellis — just like Broos — deserves a lot of credit for everything she has done for the national team. But instead of receiving what’s due to her in financial rewards, Safa simply refuses to play ball.

What’s also concerning is that the development pools meant to feed the senior teams are also struggling.

CEO Lydia Monyepao made a bold revelation recently: the U17 national team will not be able to play any preparation matches ahead of the World Cup in Qatar next month.

They’ll follow in the unwanted footsteps of the U20 national team, which also went to their global showpiece in Chile this month without playing a single friendly match.

The struggles of the junior national teams don’t affect them alone — they impact Bafana as well. Broos has spoken candidly about the need to support the junior teams, as this ensures proper development for the young players who are the future of Bafana.

You see, the mother body is supposed to be the custodian of football in the country — but instead, it continues to hog the headlines for all the wrong reasons, further muddying its image and the credibility of its governance.

At present, Safa is being run like a personal fiefdom. They reportedly do not have a Chief Operating Officer (COO), as former CEO Tebogo Motlanthe has left the association.

Motlanthe’s departure adds to the list of high-ranking officials who have turned their backs on Safa. It wasn’t long ago that former technical director Walter Steenbok also left the association unexpectedly.

So, once again, Hugo Broos must be growing more silver hairs — knowing full well that the chaos unfolding at Safa could ruin Bafana’s preparations for both the continental and global showpieces, which they have worked incredibly hard to qualify for.