‘They had six weeks to fix it,’ said the Bafana head coach.
Hugo Broos hit out at the state of the pitch at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein as he named his final squad yesterday for the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria.
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Bafana will play Lesotho on September 5 and Nigeria on September 9, with both Group C games at the Free State Stadium.
Bafana’s Broos – ‘I saw the pitch’
The Lesotho game is technically an away game, with Dikwena forced to play away from their home country as they do not have a stadium that meets requirements.
“I am a bit disappointed, I was in Bloemfontein and I saw the pitch,” said Broos.
“They said they had the Cosafa Cup there, but that ended halfway through June. They had six weeks to fix it.
“I have seen the effort that other cities made – Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Polokwane. I am very disappointed they (Bloemfontein) didn’t do the same.”
The Bafana coach added that Bafana have changed their plans, and will now stay in Johannesburg from Monday before only going to Bloemfontein next Thursday.
“Even the training pitch (in Bloemfontein) is bad,” he said.
“Lesotho are the hosts (of the first game) so we can’t really complain. But then we have Nigeria and we are disappointed.”
Bafana in fine fettle, but…
Bafana are currently five points clear at the top of Group C and in a good position to qualify for the World Cup, a position that will get even better if they can beat Lesotho and Nigeria.
Only the group winners are guaranteed a place in the USA, Canada and Mexico next year.
There remains an added caveat, however, in that Bafana may be docked three points for fielding an ineligible player – Teboho Mokoena – against Lesotho in March.
The rules suggest this will happen, but Fifa have thus far said absolutely nothing. Nigeria, currently six points behind Bafana, are certainly doing all they can to get Fifa to act.
Bafana seem to still be leaning on a suggestion that as Lesotho did not submit an official complaint, Fifa may not act.
“There was no complaint. How can you punish someone if there is no complaint?,” added the Bafana coach.
“It is not Lesotho who are pushing. We didn’t know Mokoena couldn’t play that game.
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“They (Nigeria) were not involved. They have an opportunity to come three points closer now. But if we see what we did until now why should we doubt and be worried and afraid? We have won all the games we needed to win.”
Bafana Squad
Goalkeepers: Ronwen Williams, Ricardo Goss, Sipho Chaine
Defenders: Nyiko Mobbie, Zuko Mdunyelwa, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Aubrey Modiba, Kulumane Ndamane, Ime Okon, Samukelo Kabini, Siyabonga Ngezana.
Midfielders: Teboho Mokoena, Luke Le Roux, Bathusi Aubaas, Thalente Mbatha.
Strikers: Kamogelo Sebelebele, Oswin Appollis, Patrick Maswanganyi, Iqraam Rayners, Lyle Foster, Mduduzi Shabalala, Mohau Nkota, Relebohile Mofokeng
