The Confederation of African Football (CAF) issued a strongly worded warning to African clubsRegarding the need for strict adherence to the financial standards for licensing clubs to participate in continental championships.
“CAF issues a strongly worded warning to African clubs
CAF confirmed that no club will be granted a license to participate in the African Champions League or the Confederation Cup if there are outstanding debts or financial dues, stressing that the clubs“ financial files will be subject to a thorough and strict review before the start of the new season.
The federation explained that violating clubs may face severe penalties, potentially including exclusion from continental championships, as part of a new approach aimed at enhancing transparency and financial discipline within African clubs.
CAF tightens financial controls on African clubs
CAF indicated that the 2026/2027 season will witness the application of unprecedented financial control, to ensure respect for the rules of Financial Fair Play and the settlement of financial obligations on time, in order to ensure the stability of competitions and equal opportunities among all participating clubs.
Visa scandal threatens South Africa's preparations
In another context, the delay in obtaining entry visas for some players and officials of the South African national team caused the postponement of the team's departure to Mexico to participate in the 2026 World Cup, less than two weeks before their anticipated opening match against the Mexican national team, in a crisis that sparked a wave of widespread criticism within the country.
The South African national team, known as Bafana Bafana, was scheduled to depart on Sunday morning on a chartered flight to Pachuca, Mexico, which will host the team's training camp, but visa issues prevented the trip from being completed on time.
The crisis has angered South African sports authorities, with Sports Minister Gaiton McKenzie describing what happened as an embarrassing scandal and criticizing his country's football federation for what he considered mismanagement of the matter.
McKenzie said in a post on the X platform that what happened was blatantly unfair to the players and coaching staff, adding that he had requested an urgent report from the federation on the causes of the crisis, stressing the need to hold those responsible for this chaos accountable, which made the country appear unable to manage even the simplest logistical arrangements.
