Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has called on FIFA to expedite its ruling on the possibility of South Africa being docked points for fielding an ineligible player during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
South Africa’s midfielder Teboho Mokoena appeared in their March qualifier against Lesotho despite being suspended for accumulating yellow cards, which could lead to a three-point deduction for the Bafana Bafana.
Speaking ahead of Nigeria’s critical Group C clash against South Africa in Bloemfontein, Chelle stressed that the matter falls squarely under FIFA’s jurisdiction. “I am just a coach, I lead my team. What happens around my team and the game, the talk about yellow card, there is an organisation, this organisation the name is FIFA,” he told reporters.
He added, “FIFA need to manage it, this is not my problem. My problem is my players first because they are focused. After that, just think about our game but not what happened around the game or the story. But the reality, if I can tell you one on one something, I think FIFA need to manage it quickly.”
Despite concerns about the Free State Stadium’s condition, Chelle praised the venue and underlined Nigeria’s resolve to secure maximum points. “I think it is a very good stadium. This is a big game for us and South Africa and we want to come and do our best game as we can,” he said.
“We are focused on only game. We don’t think about we play two days ago. We are focused on our game plan. My players are motivated about this game. We are happy to play a game like that, this is a big game.”
Currently third in Group C with 10 points, Nigeria trail South Africa by six points with three games remaining in the qualification campaign.
