Bafana Bafana's hugely important 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier against Nigeria will be played at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on September 9, the South African Football Association announced on Friday.
The match against the Super Eagles will be played just a few days after Bafana face Lesotho in an “away” qualifier at the same venue on September 5.
Bafana have potentially their best chance of qualifying for a World Cup, other than as hosts, since 2002 as they lead the six-team Group C with 13 points from five matches to Rwanda and Benin's eight and Nigeria's seven.
Phase one of the ticket sales for the match against Nigeria will be sold at the stadium from August 2, with adults being charged R70 and children R40. Phase two will open on August 9 with tickets available at Ticketpro at R100.
Phase three will kick off on August 16 at R150 for tickets for the grandstand area, to be sold at Spar, PostNet and most petrol stations.
Both the Lesotho and Nigeria matches will kick off at 6pm. Lesotho will announce how tickets for that match will be sold.
Fifa are yet to announce whether South Africa will be sanctioned, potentially with points docked, for fielding ineligible Teboho Mokoena (who should have been suspended) in their 2-0 victory over Lesotho in Polokwane in March.
The top teams from nine African groups qualify for the first 48-team World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the US, with four best runners-up going into playoffs for one more place.
Bafana drew their away fixture against Nigeria — compounding a disastrous start to the campaign by the Super Eagles — 1-1 in Uyo in June 2024.
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