Bafana Bafana could be playing for nothing on Saturday when they take on Sudan, as prospects of the 2015 AfricaCup of Nations finals going ahead dimmed starkly at the weekend.
An ultimatum for Morocco to confirm that it will host the tournament in January was rejected by the north African nation.
The Moroccans are scared the event could lead to an outbreak of Ebola that would badly damage the country's tourism industry.
This means the Moroccans would likely be stripped of the right to host the tournament tomorrow when the Confederation of African Football's executive meets in Cairo to decide what to do next.
The only solution to save the tournament is for another country to step in as a last-minute host. But CAF insiders said yesterday "there is no Plan B".
Should the event be called off, it will render the upcoming final two rounds of qualifiers meaningless.
However, there is no likelihood the games on November 15 and 19 will be cancelled, because there are TV and other financial commitments already in place.
Bafana play Sudan in Durban on Saturday afternoon, needing a win to ensure qualification. Then it's Nigeria on Wednesday for log leader honours.
The cancellation of the finals would be a bitter blow to South Africa, as the national side has shown a marked improvement in results in recent months and Bafana had high hopes of giving a good account of themselves in Morocco.
All this disruption is also likely to be a setback to the process of building a team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals.
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