Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie (MP), has extended his congratulations to Bafana Bafana following their emphatic 3-0 victory over Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday, which confirmed their qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Hugo Broos’ side defeated bottom-of-the-table Rwanda, as a win was all that the 2010 World Cup hosts needed to book their spot at the showpiece event in the United States of America.
The win also means that Broos’ side have been able to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 23 years.
“I want to extend the proudest of congratulations to Bafana Bafana on their outstanding 3-0 victory over Rwanda and for qualifying for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2002,” said McKenzie.
McKenzie, who took the helm as the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture in July last year, seemingly took credit for Bafana’s qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 FIFA World Cup tournaments, respectively.
“Last year, when I told the leadership of the South African Football Association (SAFA) that the two things the Ministry expected of them were qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup, there were those who doubted,” added McKenzie.
It is worth noting that the 2025 AFCON qualifiers officially began in September 2024, while the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup officially kicked off in November 2023.
It can therefore be concluded that the efforts to ensure South Africa’s participation at next year’s World Cup can be attributed to a variety of institutions and shareholders, including McKenzie’s predecessors.
“Halala Bafana Bafana! We are going to North America,” concluded McKenzie.
Bafana Bafana will be hoping to carry this momentum to Morocco at the AFCON this December, as they look to better their third-place finish at the 2024 edition.
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