South African football stars are about to get a nice payday! Sport Minister Gayton McKenzie has announced a whopping R9.5 million in bonuses for national teams, with Bafana Bafana players pocketing the biggest slice of the pie at R5 million.
The announcement came during McKenzie's feedback session in Pretoria on Wednesday. It's a massive boost for the national football team as they prepare for both the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
"Our soccer players don't enjoy the same rewards that other codes get," McKenzie pointed out. This cash injection aims to fix that imbalance and motivate the squad ahead of their upcoming international challenges.
More Teams Join the Bonus Party
Bafana Bafana might be getting the biggest share, but they're not the only ones being rewarded. Several other national teams will also receive financial recognition for their achievements.
The women's cricket team (Proteas), who reached the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup final, will receive R1 million. Banyana Banyana, who qualified for the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, will also get R1 million in bonuses.
The Springbok Women's team is set to receive R1 million after reaching the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. Meanwhile, the U-20 men's football team, current African champions, will get R1 million, and the U-17 team currently competing in Qatar will receive R500,000.
Bafana's World Cup Journey Back on Track
This bonus announcement comes at a critical time for Bafana Bafana. The team recently secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite an administrative error that nearly derailed their campaign.
Team manager Vincent Tseka failed to notice that midfielder Teboho Mokoena was ineligible to play against Lesotho in March. This oversight resulted in FIFA stripping Bafana of their 2-0 win and awarding Lesotho a 3-0 victory instead.
Fortunately, the team bounced back strongly. Under the leadership of coach Hugo Broos and assistant Helman Mkhalele, they managed to top their qualifying group and secure automatic qualification for the World Cup.
The financial boost comes at the perfect moment as Bafana prepares for their first World Cup appearance since 2010. For bettors looking ahead, this cash injection could further strengthen team morale and potentially make South Africa a more competitive outsider in both the upcoming AFCON and World Cup competitions.
McKenzie also revealed he was satisfied with SAFA's explanation of the Mokoena eligibility incident. Tseka received a final written warning, and measures have been put in place to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
