Following what he terms an ‘eye opener’ in Bloemfontein, SAFA president Danny Jordaan says there is a likelihood that other provinces could be considered for Bafana Bafana matches.
Mangaung recently hosted a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier, a sold-out tie match between Bafana Bafana and Zimbabwe at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
It was the first time since the 2010 World Cup that Bafana played in the province. South Africa won the encounter 3-1.
The scenes at the stadium, as well as the performances of the team, have been commended by the football fraternity.
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“We will have to look at it [moving Bafana Bafana around],” Jordaan told FARPost.
“Of course in some areas, we don’t have international compliant stadiums. But in other areas [we have]. Look, the World Cup had 10 stadiums, so virtually everyone of our provinces would have a stadium that complies with our regulations. So we will work on it,” he said.
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“The Bafana Bafana game in the Free State was an eye-opener. Both in terms of the play and the determination of the players and the fans. We filled the stadium to the rafters, and there was another stadium full of people who couldn’t get access. We had to block the access because you couldn’t have more people in the stadium.
“But it does show that the people of the Free State had no professional team, and they were hungry for football. We were rewarded by making that decision and then feeling that stadium, so we are very happy.”
Bafana Bafana’s next World Cup qualifier will be at home to Lesotho on 17 March 2025. There has not been an indication of where the match is likely to be hosted.
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