ZIFA confirm stadium shift for SA World Cup qualifer after Botswana plan fails

By Agencies

The Zimbabwe Football Association has confirmed that the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier between Zimbabwe and Bafana Bafana will be held at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. This change comes after ZIFA failed to secure the initially planned venue, Orlando Stadium in Soweto.

At first, reports suggested that ZIFA wanted to host the match in Botswana at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium. However, their efforts hit a snag as the Botswana Football Association said the stadium was already booked. Botswana are set to take on Uganda in the qualifiers.

That forced ZIFA back to South Africa, where they initially targeted Orlando Stadium, as reported by FARPost. But they failed to secure the venue for undisclosed reasons. As a result, Moses Mabhida Stadium has been confirmed as the venue for the crunch tie.

The match is scheduled for Friday, 10 October. In a brief statement on Tuesday, ZIFA confirmed that The Warriors will face Bafana Bafana at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

“ZIFA confirm that the Warriors will face Bafana Bafana on Matchday 9 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban,” reads the brief statement.

The Warriors have been forced to play their home games away from home as the country doesn’t have a CAF-approved stadium.

In the latest round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, they hosted Rwanda at Orlando Stadium and lost 1-0.

It promises to be an exciting encounter between the Southern Africa counterparts. In the first leg, Bafana Bafana won 3-1 at the Free State Stadium on June 11, 2024. Mamelodi Sundowns star Thapelo Morena notched a brace, and his teammate Iqraam Rayners scored the other goal. Tawanda Chirewa scored Zimbabwe’s consolation goal. For Hugo Broos and his men, this is a must-win match as they seek to consolidate their position at the top of Group C.

Bafana Bafana currently leads Group C with 17 points from eight matches. They are followed by Benin in second place with 14 points, and then Nigeria and Rwanda, who are tied on 11 points. Lesotho sits in fifth with six points, while Zimbabwe is at the bottom of the group with four points.