A standoff is looming between Bafana Bafana players and the South African Football Association (Safa) over the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) match bonuses.
The negotiations between the players and the national association started in the camp for the international friendly against Zambia in Gqeberha two weeks ago. The players’ delegation is led by captain Ronwen Williams and senior players such as Teboho Mokoena. Safa’s bone of contention is that the players are demanding way above budget.
Well-placed Safa insiders have revealed that Bafana players are demanding 50% of what the team will accomplish at Afcon, which will take place in Morocco from December 21 until January 18 when the final will be played.
Sunday World has been reliably informed that Safa has offered the players between 30% and 35% of their winnings.
South Africa has been placed in Group B together with Angola, Egypt and Zimbabwe. They will open their campaign against Angola at the Stade de Marrakech on December 22.
This time around, Bafana players are negotiating from a strong position after their incredible rise and remarkable performances in the 2025 Afcon and 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers. They qualified for the Afcon at a canter, with games in hand and also booked their
ticket for the Fifa World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, even after they were docked three points by Fifa after they fielded an ineligible player in Mokoena.
In the last Afcon in Ivory Coast in 2023, CAF announced a 40% increase in the prize money. The winners Ivory Coast, received a sugar-coated $7-million (R126-million) while runners-up Nigeria were blessed with $4-million (R72-million).
Bafana and the other semifinalists DR Congo, received a whopping R47-million. The quarterfinalists each got $1,3-million (R23-million). For just showing face in the group stages, all participating teams/federations get $500 000 (R9-million).
From the R47-million that Safa pocketed, the association cried foul after the players took R40-million and the association was left with a mere R7-million. It should also be noted that coach Hugo Broos gets 10% of the team’s winnings, which is stipulated in his contract.
It’s déjà vu, with the players alleged to be unrelenting in their negotiations with only a few weeks before the tournament starts.
Normally Bafana players each get R60 000 for a win, R30 000 for a draw and nothing for a loss. But with tournaments, they negotiate with Safa according to how far they are able to progress – it becomes a performance bonus kind of arrangement.
“If the players take more than 50%, that will cripple the association financially. Their demands have increased significantly from the last tournament in the Ivory Coast. If they get this, Safa will not be able to cover all its expenses, and there will be no benefit for the association.
“Safa gave them an offer of 30%-35%, and they came with a counteroffer of more than 50%,” said the well-placed insider.
In 2023, Williams, Themba Zwane and former players Percy Tau, Siyanda Xulu, and Veli Mothwa signed the memorandum on behalf of the team.
Safa normally breaks down what progression in each stage normally entails financially for players. But the body and the players never divulged a breakdown of the bonus agreement.
Said Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao during last Afcon’s bonus talks: “We are adopting a similar structure to 2019 – that’s our basis to say what it is you are going to get if you go into the round of 16, the quarterfinals and so on. It is a performance bonus more than anything.”
