The South African Football Association (SAFA) has escaped a banning order from CAF, with SAFA explaining the unexpected appointment of Molefi Ntseki as coach for the CHAN qualifying team.

The Bafana Bafana ‘B’ side is set to face Egypt in the first-round African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier on Sunday, following visa acquisition difficulties experienced by the North Africans.

Egypt requested a postponement after it became clear that their visas would only be issued on the day of the originally scheduled match, Friday. This request was granted.

Ntseki, recently dismissed as technical director of Marumo Gallants, will be assisted by Raymond Mdaka, who joined the team’s camp on Wednesday. The match will still be held at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein and will kick off on Sunday afternoon.

The team assembled in Johannesburg on Wednesday and then traveled to the Free State, accompanied by SAFA Technical Committee Chairman Jack Maluleke and South Africa U20 coach Mdaka. Maluleke explained the reasoning behind the coaching change.

“Remember, in the last NEC meeting, the SAFA technical committee recommended coach Molefi Ntseki after he was interviewed to head the technical development of SAFA, specifically the academies and junior teams as a manager,” he said. 

“After we got information that the South African senior national team coach requested that Helman Mkhalele must be recused from this team because we have the priority of Bafana Bafana playing 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin in a few weeks’ time, we agreed. 

“Therefore, we as SAFA realized that after the NEC endorsed the name of Molefi Ntseki, we had to check who can replace Mkhalele at this point in time.  

“We thought of him (Ntseki) because he’s the most senior and we requested him to be deployed there on a temporary basis to step in for Helman and he will be assisted by the head coach of the SA U20s (Mdaka). 

“Coach Ntseki is there because he’s in the system and we requested him to assist because we needed somebody who can step in because this is an urgent matter.” 

According to Sportswire sources, SAFA had initially been reluctant to participate in the CHAN tournament, citing a packed domestic calendar in a letter to CAF. They also argued that CHAN, being a competition for locally-based players, was subject to club releases, which could be denied.

Sportswire reported that CAF President Patrice Motsepe reacted strongly to SAFA’s stance, threatening a ban on the association, which would have been particularly embarrassing given his South African origin. He instructed SAFA and the PSL to find common ground, emphasizing the importance of the CHAN tournament to him.

Following discussions, Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, and Kaizer Chiefs held meetings with SAFA coaching staff, where it was agreed that these clubs would release a limited number of players not regularly used by their coaches.

This agreement explains Pirates’ willingness to release Monnapule Saleng. Sportswire has been informed that Saleng will not play for Pirates again this season, having signed a pre-contract with another club.