How South Africa’s World Cup Qualification Would Boost PSL Clubs in 2026
- South Africa are one of the nine African nations that have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America
- Bafana Bafana are one of the top footballing nations heading into the tournament, with majorly players playing in their local league
- A sports journalist has explained to Briefly News how Premier Soccer League clubs would benefit from Bafana Bafana's qualification for the competition
It is no longer news that South Africa will be among the countries representing Africa at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico.
Bafana Bafana secured a place in the competition after qualifying ahead of Nigeria, Benin Republic, and others in the CAF qualification phase.
The Mzansi men's national team faced some issues during the qualifiers, but still managed to book a place in the main event next year.
How PSL clubs would benefit from FIFA
Football analyst Kingsley Akpan, while chatting with Briefly News, outlined how clubs in the South African league will benefit from Bafana Bafana's qualification for the competition.
"The Premier Soccer League clubs will benefit financially from FIFA just from releasing their players for the competition next year, something Nigerian Professional League teams might be missing out on," he said.
"There are reports online claiming that FIFA has prepared $355 million for clubs that release their players to represent their countries in the global event next year in North America.
"The South African national team is dominated by players playing in the local league. These are some of the advantages this brings to the country's league setup. Some of these clubs will have extra money to spend on transfers and also help them grow financially."
Akpan was critical of Nigeria not having good players rising from the NPFL to the national team as before, and also the likelihood of the Super Eagles not qualifying for the World Cup.
"As I said, we still have a lot to learn from South Africa in terms of an organised league. It is possible we have no representative from our league if Nigeria eventually qualifies for the World Cup through playoffs," he added.
"Most of our players playing in the local league are not good enough to play for the Super Eagles, and, surprisingly, a club in the South African league will benefit financially if Nigeria qualifies for the World Cup.
"Our starting goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali plays in the PSL for Chippa United, so the club will be benefiting if Nigeria qualifies, and there's Kayode Bankole who recently left the NPFL for South Africa.
"We need to do better in the way we organise our league so our clubs don't miss out on some of these benefits from FIFA when big competitions come up."
Hilton-Smith slams SAFA over Ellis
Briefly News also reported that former Banyana Banyana coach Fran Hilton-Smith has accused SAFA of being “unprofessional” in handling Desiree Ellis’s contract impasse.
SAFA’s national executive committee (NEC) approved a new four-year contract for Ellis. However, she has not signed the contract, reportedly over disagreements with certain clauses.
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Source: Briefly News
