‘SAFA gave us one kit’: Ex-Bafana staff reveals shocking World Cup problems
· The South African
Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper coach Grant Johnson has criticised the organisation and preparations surrounding South Africa’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign.
Johnson, who worked alongside head coach Hugo Broos and Helman Mkhalele, has provided a behind-the-scenes account of the team’s preparations, claiming the build-up to the tournament was the worst he had experienced.
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Bafana’s troubles reportedly started before their departure for Mexico, with visa issues contributing to delays in the team’s travel arrangements.
Speaking to Peter Du Toit on Soccerbeat, Johnson expressed his disappointment with the way the national team was prepared for the global showpiece.
Bafana reached last 32 of the World Cup
“I think it was poor from their side,” Johnson admitted.
“You’re going to a World Cup, for me, it’s the biggest sporting event on the planet and yet you don’t feel like you’re going to a World Cup. You don’t feel the importance of the occasion.
“I’ve been there during the Confederation Cup and World Cup (2010) before and back then, it just felt different. We were spoilt. We were given gifts and lots of kit and they just made you feel special. They made you feel like you were going to a special tournament.”
Johnson also compared Bafana’s 2026 World Cup preparations to their successful 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign, where they won a bronze medal.
According to the former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper, the AFCON experience felt more significant despite the World Cup being football’s biggest stage.
“Going to AFCON in 2023 when we got bronze, it felt more important than going to a World Cup,” he said.
“For the World Cup, I don’t think the organisation was great. A lot of times during the World Cup, things didn’t go according to plan.
“It’s not always SAFA’s fault, but there’s a lot of it that they could have corrected. It’s small issues, kit issues for an example. Two games before the World Cup game and the day after the game, we were told you can’t wear any sponsored logos, so nothing that was Standard Bank or Castle or anything like that.”
Johnson said Bafana’s World Cup preparations did not go according to plan
Johnson then revealed that members of the technical team were left with limited training gear during the tournament.
“When we got to the World Cup for the first game, we got given kit which didn’t have logos on. I was given one T-shirt, one tracksuit and a pair of shorts. So we had to wear that for four days and around the tournament, we were complaining that we were wearing the same shirt for four days,” he explained.
“Coach Hugo was like, ‘No ways, I’m wearing the same shirt for four days,’ so he started wearing sponsored jerseys.”
Johnson believes the issues experienced by Bafana were avoidable and that SAFA needs to improve its organisation behind the scenes if the national team is to perform at its best on the international stage especially the World Cup
For him, addressing the small details could make a significant difference to the team’s preparations and ultimately allow the players and technical staff to focus entirely on football.