Unforgiving Minister of Sport Gayton McKenzie makes his demands to Safa clear after Bafana Bafana's Afcon qualification - 'One more to go'

Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie told Safa in September that they will have no excuse if Bafana Bafana fails to qualify for both the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

He argued that the Federation and the National team have been given all the necessary help from the government to achieve the objectives.

On Tuesday, Bafana Bafana beat South Sudan 3-0 to finish top of Group K without tasting a defeat. They won four games and drew two as they qualified for Afcon in style.

They will now be concentrating on grabbing the 2026 World Cup ticket once the campaign resumes next year.

South Africa are in Group C alongside Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Rwanda and Benin.

Despite congratulating Bafana for qualifying for Afcon, McKenzie is not yet satisfied.

"When I met Safa, I was very clear that for our continued support, we demand Bafana Bafana to qualify for the Afcon 2026 and Fifa World Cup," he wrote on his X account.

"I wanna congratulate the leadership and players for jumping over the first hurdle, one more to go. I am very proud. Our football is back, thank you."

Bafana coach Hugo Broos now hopes to have all his players fit ahead of the next international break that will see South Africa take on Lesotho and Benin, respectively.

If the national team manages to take maximum points, their dream of playing in the World Cup for the first time since 2010 will be more realistic.