The Super Eagles received a major boost in their World Cup qualifying campaign after FIFA sanctioned the South African Football Association for fielding an ineligible player.
FIFA confirmed that South Africa must forfeit their March 21, 2025, qualifier against Lesotho after midfielder Teboho Mokoena was selected despite being ineligible.
As a result, Lesotho has been awarded a 3-0 victory, altering the standings in Group C where Nigeria, South Africa, and Lesotho are battling for qualification.
The sanction comes at a crucial stage of the qualifiers, with Nigeria sitting third in the group and chasing one of Africa’s automatic tickets to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
South Africa has also been fined 10,000 Swiss francs (£9,000), while Mokoena received a warning from FIFA.
In its statement, FIFA said all parties were informed of the disciplinary committee’s decision on Monday and have ten days to request a motivated decision.
“The parties were notified of the terms of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision today.
“In accordance with the relevant provisions of the FDC, they have ten days in which to request a motivated decision, which, if requested, would subsequently be published on legal.fifa.com. The forfeiture decision remains subject to a potential appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee,” it read.
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