Kaizer Chiefs players narrowly missed selection for the FIFA World Cup 2026 squad. However, only Bradley Cross made Hugo Broos’ final 26-man Bafana Bafana team. Meanwhile, several Amakhosi players contributed during the qualification journey. Consequently, they still benefited financially despite missing final selection. FIFA introduced compensation for clubs releasing players for qualifiers.
FIFA payouts reward Chiefs qualifiers involvement
The FIFA Council allocated $100 million, equal to R1.62 billion, for clubs. This fund rewards teams that released players for World Cup qualifiers. Kaizer Chiefs had four players involved in the qualification campaign. These players included Thabiso Monyane, Mduduzi Shabalala, Sibongiseni Mthethwa, and Given Msimango.
‘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 played in four qualifiers and earned R156 000 in total. Mthethwa featured in two matches and collected R78 000 overall. He played against Benin and also sat on the bench versus Rwanda. Msimango appeared twice as a substitute against Nigeria and Zimbabwe. He therefore earned R78 000 from his squad involvement. Monyane participated once against Nigeria and received R39 000. Altogether, the quartet collected R351 000 for their contributions.
Late heartbreak for Chiefs players missing World Cup squad
Several other Chiefs players came close to final World Cup selection. Brandon Petersen, Lebohang Maboe, and Monyane entered the preliminary 32-man squad. However, they failed to make the final cut for the tournament. They joined Patrick Maswanganyi, Thapelo Morena, and Brooklyn Poggenpoel. All six players ultimately missed out on the final World Cup squad. Despite the disappointment, their efforts during the campaign remained valuable.
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