The world football governing body confirmed this on Monday.
Nigeria and other countries have been handed a boost after FIFA officially deducted three points from South Africa in the ongoing 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The confirmation was made on Monday by the world football governing body.
It is punishment for Bafana Bafana fielding Teboho Mokoena, who was ineligible to face Lesotho in March.
South Africa have also seen three goals deducted from their tally by FIFA.
According to FIFA, SAFA’s action breached Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and Article 14 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition Regulations. As a result, the match has been forfeited in favour of Lesotho, with a 3-0 scoreline awarded.
In addition, SAFA has been fined CHF 10,000, while Mokoena himself has received an official warning.
The decision was formally communicated to the parties today. Under FIFA rules, they have ten days to request a detailed, motivated decision, which would subsequently be published on legal.fifa.com. The ruling remains subject to appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee.
Hugo Broos’ men currently sit at the top of their World Cup qualification Group C, having collected 17 points from eight games.
Bafana had a three-point gap to second-placed Benin, but have now been overtaken by the Squirrels after their 2-0 win against Lesotho was written off and resulted as 0-3 due to the administrative error.
This represents a significant boost for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, who still harbour hopes of playing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
1SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER NOW
Support MATAZ ARISING’ journalism of integrity and credibility.
Good journalism ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
We ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
TEXT AD: To advertise here – Email ad@matazarising.com
LATEST POSTS
-
GERMAN EMBASSY: WE DON’T WORK WITH VISA AGENTS, BEWARE OF MISINFORMATION
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas The German Embassy in Nigeria has warned applicants that no agent can guarantee a visa, stating clearly that it does not work with intermediaries and that visa decisions are made solely by the embassy. Buy Maps The advisory is a direct response to the growing industry of visa consultants who claim special…
-
Just in: FG confirms Ebola case in FCT, begins contact tracing
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas By Chidinma Chukwu, Abuja The Federal Government has reportedly commenced contact tracing after a suspected imported case of Ebola disease was identified in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with 44 close contacts said to have been identified. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, was quoted as…
-
A senator’s lonely death
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas In September 2022, the Nigerian Tribune reported the discovery of the skeleton of an engineer, Mr John Aderemi Abiola, in his house in the Adeosun/Idi Orogbo community of Ibadan. He had been out of sight for almost four years. Some of his neighbours thought he was away in Port Harcourt where he…
