The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Tuesday apologised to viewers for not being able to air Bafana Bafana’s match against Paraguay in the Nelson Mandela Challenge.

“It is regrettable that the public broadcaster is unable to broadcast the national team’s games at this stage, due to the SABC and the South African Football Association (Safa) not being able to reach a new agreement,” the public broadcaster said in a short statement.

“The SABC remains committed to engaging Safa on fair terms in dealing with this impasse, as the SABC takes its role of broadcasting Bafana Bafana games to the South African public seriously.”

The broadcaster was also unable to broadcast Bafana’s clash with Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the weekend, leading to an outcry from soccer fans and calls by trade unions and public interest groups for the two sides to settle their dispute.