Bafana home game set for Soweto

The SA Football Association (Safa) are still finalising the venue for Bafana Bafana ’ s home 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against São Tomé and Príncipe in March.

It seems the game will be at an inland stadium‚ and Safa may well go for Soweto with a quick turnaround between the home and away fixture against the tiny West African islands.

The exact dates for the fixtures have also not been released yet‚ but the Fifa window runs from March 23-31.

Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki will be eager to minimise the travel for his players ‚ and that means being as close to OR Tambo International as possible.

It is the same formula that was used when they had a double-header against Seychelles in the 2019 qualifiers‚ playing the home leg at the FNB Stadium before a meeting with the Indian Ocean Island team in Victoria just three days later.

In that instance, they could at least get a direct flight from

Johannesburg to the Seychelles‚ but face a path a lot more convoluted to São Tomé and Príncipe.

The quickest route to the islands is via Luanda on Angolan Airlines ‚ though flying via Portugal is also an option.

Bafana will meet São Tomé and Príncipe for the first time, and could need back-to-back wins to ensure they at least finish second in their qualification pool. They will also be eager to make use of the altitude of the highveld‚ just as they did when they romped to a record 6-0 victory over Seychelles.

6-0 was the score Bafana beat the Seychelles by on the highveld