After all the fuss, Bafana cleared to play Lesotho and Nigeria at Free State Stadium

Bafana Bafana's 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Nigeria will be played at the Free State Stadium as previously scheduled after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and Fifa asked for them to be moved.

Caf and Fifa did an inspection of the Free State Stadium pitch on Tuesday and concluded it will be satisfactory for the crucial Group C games against Lesotho on Friday and Nigeria on Tuesday.

On Sunday the two organisations issued correspondence to the South African Football Association (Safa) and Lesotho FA telling them these matches had to be moved to Bloemfontein's other major venue, Dr Molemela Stadium.

It transpired Caf and Fifa had not sent any officials to inspect the pitch in person and made their decision based on second-hand information. After an inspection on Tuesday Free State Stadium was passed for both games.

Friday's match is a home game for Lesotho, but being played in South Africa due to there being no Caf-approved venue in the mountain kingdom.

Lesotho FA communications manager Mikia Kalati told TimesLIVE on Wednesday the association received clearance to host Bafana Bafana at Free State Stadium.

“Logistically it would have been a nightmare for us to move the game to Dr Molemela Stadium as we had sold tickets for the match to be played at Free State Stadium. Fifa and Caf contacted us again on Tuesday and assured us we could play Bafana at Free State Stadium,” Kalati said.

Free State Stadium has a capacity of 42,000 and Molemela Stadium 22,000.

Kalati could not confirm how many tickets had been sold for Friday's match but said he expects the venue to be packed to capacity.

Safa issued a statement on Tuesday evening saying the Nigeria game was also remaining at its original venue.

“Considering the encouraging progress observed on the pitch, both organisations [Caf and Fifa] have agreed the matches will proceed as originally scheduled at Free State Stadium,” Safa said. 

There is much at stake in both for Bafana coach Hugo Broos' side as six points will take them within touching distance of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since South Africa hosted the event in 2010 and the first time other than as hosts since 2002.

Bafana lead Group C with 13 points from six matches, followed by Rwanda and Benin on eight, Nigeria on seven, Lesotho on six and Zimbabwe on four.