By Kei Emmanuel Duku
South African Football Association has denied claims circulating on social media that it funded the flight ticket and accommodation expenses for the South Sudan National Team, the Bright Stars, during the recent TotalEnergies 2025 AFCON Qualifiers played in Cape Town, South Africa.
The claims, which trended on platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, suggested that the South Sudan Football Association faced financial constraints and could not afford flight tickets for the entire Bright Stars squad.
As a result, the management allegedly reduced the number of traveling players to 15 to cut costs.
These claims sparked a public outcry in South Sudan and beyond. Over the weekend, the South African Football Association (SAFA) issued a public notice stating that the claims were false.
SAFA emphasized that, according to the Confederation of African Football rules and regulations governing competitions, each member state is responsible for paying for its flight tickets, accommodations, and other expenses during competitions.
“The South Africa Football Association-SAFA has noted misleading reports claiming that South Africa paid for the flight and/or accommodation of the South Sudanese team that played against the Bafana Bafana in the Africa Cup Nations Qualifiers in Cape Town a few days ago. SAFA would like to put it on the record that these reports are completely false and unfortunate, and devoid of any truth,” stated the public notice.
In a separate press statement, the South Sudan Football Association also denied the claims, stating that it fully paid for the flight costs and accommodation services for its team while in Cape Town on November 19, 2024, as expected in all international matches.
The statement further noted that, despite facing financial challenges, the association has managed to fund all official matches for its various national teams without withdrawing from any international competitions.
“These unproven social media statements are nothing but an attempt to spread misinformation that serves no purpose other than to buy unnecessary attention and discredit the dedication and efforts of SSFA towards football development in the country. The public should disregard it,” the statement reads.
The association urged social media users to exercise caution and refrain from publishing false and misleading content that could harm the integrity of the South Sudan Football Association.
SSFA highlighted that its national team has participated in several competitions, including the FIFA World Cup, AFCON Qualifiers, CHAN, CECAFA, and CAF Pan Africa School Championships, all funded by the association.
This is the second time in less than a month that the South Sudan Football Association has faced allegations of financial difficulties.
In mid-October, the association denied claims of unpaid hotel bills for the Bright Stars after a home match against Uganda Cranes in Uganda.