Bafana take crucial Nations Cup qualifier against Congo to Gqeberha

Bafana Bafana will host Congo at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha next month in their crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier, South African Football Association (Safa) CEO Lydia Monyepao has confirmed. 

Safa initially wanted to host the match at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, where Bafana played in front of a capacity crowd in a 3-1 Fifa World Cup qualifying win over Zimbabwe in June. 

Monyepao said Safa was forced to change to Gqeberha because of logistical challenges beyond their control in Bloemfontein. 

Bafana go into the Group K clash with Congo on October 11 (7pm) level on four points at the top with Uganda after two matches, and will be out to claim all three home points on offer to stay in contention for qualification for the next Afcon in Morocco. They play a return match in Brazzaville on October 15 (6pm).

“The reason we chose Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is we initially had penciled down Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein and were in advanced talks with the Mangaung municipality to the take the national team back there,” Monyepao said. 

“We wanted to take the team to Bloemfontein because of the support we got in June when we played against Zimbabwe and we thought it would be the best atmosphere.  

“We want to support the team in their search for maximum points at home before they go to Brazzaville, but there were issues beyond our control for us taking the game to Bloemfontein. 

“We were thinking about the happenings in Mangaung around that weekend, and the condition of the pitch leading up to the game was not going to be ideal because there will be rugby matches happening and there were other logistical challenges. 

“ We thought it would be best if we take the match to Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, which was scheduled to host Bafana in November.” 

Monyepao said Safa has received many offers from venues that want to host the crunch Fifa World Cup qualifier clash against Nigeria next year. 

“A lot of provinces have approached us to say they want to host the match against Nigeria but we are saying there other matches. We don’t only have one match, but we have Banyana Banyana, Bafana in Afcon and World Cup qualifiers and we need assistance.” 

Monyepao said Safa also has to consult with coach Hugo Broos and his technical team when they decide on venues. 

“It is also key to listen to the technical staff and what they say in terms of what kind of conditions they want to play under for a particular match. We want to give our players ideal conditions to be able to perform better than the opposition. 

“We will take that into consideration before we take the final decision on which province will host our match against Nigeria next year.”