Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has expressed his disappointment regarding the poor state of the Free State Stadium pitch in Bloemfontein ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
South Africa is scheduled to host their neighbour Lesotho on September 5, before facing a challenging match against the Super Eagles four days later.
In a recent announcement of his 23-man squad, Broos did not hold back his criticism of the venue, which was expected to be in optimal condition following the COSAFA Cup held there in June.
“I am a bit disappointed. I was in Bloemfontein and I saw the pitch,” Broos was quoted on iol.co.za.
“They had six weeks to fix it. I have observed the efforts made by other cities – Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and Polokwane. I am quite disappointed that they did not do the same.
“Even the training pitch in Bloemfontein is bad. Lesotho are the host (of the first game), so we can’t really complain. But then we have Nigeria, and we are disappointed.”
Also Read: 2026 WCQ: Pressure Is On Nigeria, Not South Africa –Bafana Bafana Coach, Hugo Broos
It’s clear from Broos’s remarks that he is concerned about the implications of a poor pitch on the performance of his team.
In a strategic shift, Bafana will now stay in Johannesburg from Monday and will only make their way to Bloemfontein on Thursday for their matches.
Meanwhile, Bafana Bafana are top of Group C on 13 points while the Super Eagles are fourth on seven points.
In the first leg in Uyo, the Super Eagles were held to a 1-1 draw.
3 Comments
South Africa will play inside South Africa on the 5th while Nigeria will play on the 6th, then Nigeria will travel several hours on the 7th to play on 9th against the South Africa that will have extra days to rest and recover and someone expect the super eagles to win the match. Do we have technical people in that NFF, why give the South Africans unnecessary advantage over the Super Eagles. Unfortunately, this has been the pattern since the qualifiers stated…. Shame on all those in that cursed federation called NFF!
The NFF should have picked up on this point. Shame on them.
You make a good point. They play on Friday. Rest on Saturday, then start training from Sunday to match day on Tuesday.
Nigeria, on the other hand, plays on Saturday. Gets no rest and hop on the plane the next day, Sunday, totally jaded from the previous day’s match. Arrive SA, still no proper rest. Then, while still fatigued, have just one full day of training on Monday.
Nah wa o. This whole setup was done to favor SA, especially with them playing Lesotho, who’re conspirators with them, and Zimbabwe at home. Pinnick was not so good, but I think I’ll pick him ahead of Gusau. The guy was more proactive,