2010 Bafana legends denied chance to meet 2026 squad, says Samlfa chief

South African Masters and Legends Football Association (Samlfa) president Jacob ‘Buddha’ Mathathe says the 2010 Bafana Bafana squad was prevented from meeting the current team during the 2026 World Cup in Mexico.

South Africa returned to the World Cup 16 years after hosting the tournament in 2010. Their opening fixture in Mexico carried added significance because it was played against the same opponents, on the same date – June 11 – as the 2010 encounter between South Africa and Mexico.

Sports minister Gayton McKenzie arranged a dress rehearsal between the 2010 squad and Mexico before the 2026 World Cup opener. The reunion was intended to help the former players prepare the current Bafana group for the tournament and offer guidance on how to improve on the 1-1 draw recorded in 2010.

The two groups were also staying in the same location in Mexico, raising expectations that the former players would meet and encourage the current squad. However, South Africa lost the opening match 2-0 to Mexico, and the planned meeting did not take place.

Mathathe said the 2010 players were based in Pachuca at the same time as Bafana. Speaking to IOL Sport, he recalled how Siphiwe Tshabalala and Reneilwe ‘Yeye’ Letsholonyane raised the issue during breakfast.

“In Pachuca, we were in the same base as Bafana,” Mathathe said. “In one of the breakfasts, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Reneilwe ‘Yeye’ Letsholonyane came to me – I was with Patson Banda, who was the team manager.

“We were eating. Tshabalala, pointing out through a window, said to me: ‘President, Bafana are there. Do something. It can’t be right that we are here, and we’ll go back home, without having spoken to the current Bafana players. Do something.’”

Mathathe said he then contacted SAFA president Danny Jordaan, but the former players were never given the opportunity to see the current squad.

“I spoke with the president (SAFA president Danny Jordaan). But the legends never saw, met or encouraged them in Mexico,” he said.

At the time, Mathathe was not only representing the players but was also a serving member of the SAFA National Executive Committee (NEC). He later lost his involvement in the association’s operations before Jordaan was re-elected for an unprecedented fourth consecutive term.

Mathathe did not stand for nomination to return to the NEC, while Samlfa did not contest the election for another term as an associate member.

He had publicly endorsed Jordaan’s challenger, Sandile Zungu, and subsequently accused Jordaan of attempting to silence Samlfa and remove it from the SAFA system. Mathathe also said he had been labelled a rebel after advising Jordaan to resign to protect SAFA’s integrity while facing fraud charges against the association.

“I don’t know whether that clears up my relationship with the president,” Mathathe said. “I am with legends – the class of 2010. They wanted to encourage the current Bafana team for the benefit of South Africa, but they never had that opportunity.”