Even before Bafana Bafana have fired a shot in anger at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) the mood has been soured.
It has emerged there is no bonus deal between the South African Football Association (Safa) and Bafana players ahead of Africa's biggest tournament which kicks off in Ivory Coast during January.
Worryingly, Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao has been engaging the players since mid-October about cash incentives with no success.
Bafana are expected to go into camp in Stellenbosch on January 4 to start preparations and all parties are hoping an agreeable deal is struck before then.
SA do not have a good record at international tournaments and the last thing Bafana coach Hugo Broos will want is for his players to be distracted by off-the-field issues.
To have any hope of gaining success in Ivory Coast, Bafana will have to be totally focused on the job at hand.
Monyepao says she is hoping that through discussions with senior players, Safa will have an agreement on the table before the players go into camp.
Safa have already made an offer, but the players dug their heels in and came back with a counter offer.
Monyepao said negotiations are taking time because players are asking for more money than Safa has offered so far.
Safa are offering a performance bonus based on whether Bafana reach the round of 16 or quarterfinals and so on.
Soccer bosses are now sitting between a rock and hard place as they weigh up what they can and cannot afford.
After the training camp in Stellenbosch, the team will have a closed doors training match with Lesotho on January 10 and they fly out to the Ivory Coast the following day.
Bafana have been pitted against neighbours Namibia, 2004 Afcon winners Tunisia and Mali in Group E, and the top two teams will progress to the round of 16.
Concerned Safa officials are eager to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing standoff that developed with Banyana Banyana ahead of the 2023 Women's World Cup.
On that occasion the women's national team went as far as boycotting their send-off match against Botswana over several contractual and treatment issues.
A similar fiasco could sink Bafana even before they reach Ivory Coast.
HeraldLIVE