A former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper says tying World Cup qualification to WAFCON semi-final finishes puts unfair mental strain on players competing in two tournaments at once.
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South African football legend Brian Baloyi has called on CAF to stop the practice of qualifying nations for the FIFA Women’s World Cup simply by reaching the semi-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The comments follow a dramatic conclusion to the WAFCON 2026 qualification race. South Africa’s Banyana Banyana, who had themselves been eliminated in the WAFCON quarter finals, kept their World Cup hopes alive by beating Nigeria’s Super Falcons 2-1 in a play-in match, joining Ghana in a 10-team intercontinental play-off later this year. For Nigeria, the result meant missing the Women’s World Cup for the first time since the tournament’s 1991 debut in China, ending the Super Falcons’ run as the only African side to feature at every edition.
“Two Tournaments In One”
Baloyi, who represented South Africa at the 1997 Confederations Cup, 1998 AFCON, 1998 World Cup and the Sydney 2000 Olympics, told IOL Sport that CAF should revisit the practice of tying World Cup qualification to WAFCON semi-final results. He said the arrangement made sense at junior level, where it has long been standard, but argued it was time for CAF to change the approach for the women’s senior game.
He also raised a broader concern about how few competitive matches women’s national teams get to play overall, suggesting a standalone World Cup qualifying series would benefit the players. Baloyi said folding qualification into WAFCON effectively forces teams to play two tournaments at once, adding unnecessary stress as players try to win the continental title while also thinking about qualifying for the sport’s biggest tournament.
