How much Kaizer Chiefs stars banked after missing out on FIFA World Cup 2026
· The South African
So close, yet so far. That was the case for a number of Kaizer Chiefs stars who almost made it to FIFA World Cup 2026.
Visit somethingsdifferent.biz for more information.
Thankfully, there were some ‘comfort funds’ for them to help drown their sorrows.
Kaizer Chiefs ultimately had just one representative in Hugo Broos’ final 26-man squad for the tournament – Bradley Cross.
However, several Kaizer Chiefs stars played a role in South Africa’s successful qualification campaign.
As a result, they earned a tidy payout for their involvement in Bafana Bafana’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
KAIZER CHIEFS QUARTET DROPPED BUT PAID
The FIFA Council set aside $100 million (R1.62 billion) for clubs that released players for the FIFA World Cup 2026 preliminary competition.
Thabiso Monyane, Mduduzi Shabalala, Sibongiseni Mthethwa and Given Msimango will all receive FIFA compensation for their involvement in the qualifiers.
‘According to FIFA, there will be approximately R39 000 paid to Amakhosi per player for each of the qualifiers in which they had a player in the match-day squad,’ KickOff reported.
Shabalala featured in four qualifiers, earning R156 000 for his appearances.
Meanwhile, Mthethwa was involved in two matches, taking home R78 000. He featured in Bafana Bafana’s 2-1 victory over Benin and was an unused substitute during South Africa’s shock defeat to Rwanda.
Msimango was named on the bench twice – against Nigeria and Zimbabwe in June 2024 – thus resulting in a further R78 000 payout.
Meanwhile, Monyane, was involved against Nigeria and earned R39 000.
In total, the Amakhosi quartet banked R351 000 for their respective contributions to Bafana Bafana’s successful FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.
ALSO READ: OPEN LETTER TO HUGO BROOS: MOFOKENG NEEDS TO START TO SAVE BAFANA’S FIFA WORLD CUP
SO CLOSE YET SO FAR FOR HALF A DOZEN DROPPED BAFANA BAFANA STARS
Several Kaizer Chiefs players came even closer to securing a place at the World Cup.
Amakhosi captain Brandon Petersen, Lebohang Maboe and Monyane were all included in Broos’ preliminary 32-man squad before missing out on the final cut.
The trio joined Patrick Maswanganyi, Thapelo Morena and Brooklyn Poggenpoel as the six players omitted from South Africa’s final FIFA World Cup squad, leaving them heartbreakingly close to football’s biggest stage.
However, they should hold their heads up high for coming so close.