Bafana Bafana group opponents Nigeria still entertain thoughts of the former being docked points by world football governing body FIFA.

Bafana Bafana and Nigeria are in Group C of the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Back in March, Bafana Bafana fielded Teboho Mokoena in the 2-0 win over Lesotho despite the fact that he had accumulated two yellow cards and was, therefore, suspended for the match.

Crucially, Lesotho failed to lodge a protest. In terms of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code, “protests must reach the Disciplinary Committee in writing, indicating the relevant grounds, within 24 hours of the end of the match in question.”

Bafana Bafana remain top of Group C with 13 points from six games, followed by Rwanda (8), Benin (8), and Nigeria (7).

Since March, FIFA has twice released documents with disciplinary cases related to World Cup qualifiers in March and June, and on the face of it, South Africa may have averted a points deduction because there’s no mention of Mokoena or Bafana Bafana.

However, in a statement released by Nigeria’s Football Federation (NFF), the West Africans remain hopeful that FIFA will act.

“While the world still awaits FIFA’s decision, Nigeria and Rwanda will go for each other’s jugular in order to be appropriately placed to benefit from Bafana Bafana’s error,” stated NFF on their official website.

As things stand, sources within the South African Football Association (SAFA) have confirmed they have not received any correspondence from FIFA regarding the matter.