The South African Football Association (SAFA) is under increasing pressure from the Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture Gayton McKenzie following a series of disappointing results from the national team, Bafana Bafana. Speaking at the handover of the Nedbank Multipurpose court at the Job Rathabe Secondary School in Orlando, McKenzie said,
No, you see, I don’t have full confidence. I’ve got full confidence in rugby at the moment because full confidence can’t come with talk, it comes with results. I’ve got full confidence in the rugby because the results are there for us to see, the results are not there with the soccer. The results are not there with hockey, I’m not a man that gets overpowered with words, I like action,”.
Despite reaching the semifinals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, SAFA’s leadership, headed by Danny Jordaan, has faced calls for a change in direction.
“I told the man that you are talking about, Doctor Danny Jordaan and I told SAFA, I give you two deliverables. I’m the ultimate accounting authority when it comes to football and sport in this country, I said to them, qualify for the World Cup, qualify for the African Nations Cup. I’m giving them all the support now but I can’t be giving people support until kingdom come, that’s not performing,” the minister explained.
McKenzie has made it clear that qualifying for both the 2025 AFCON and 2026 FIFA World Cup is a minimum expectation for the current SAFA administration.
Bafana’s recent struggles in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, where they are currently tied with Rwanda and Benin, have only fueled the discontent.
As the pressure mounts, SAFA will need to deliver results on the field to maintain the Minister’s support.