Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is expressing his frustration as his team has been denied their scheduled training session at the Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, the day before their crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Benin on Tuesday.
The unusual situation arises because Benin is hosting South Africa in Côte d’Ivoire due to their own stadium being unfit for international matches.
However, Côte d’Ivoire is also hosting Gambia at the same venue tonight Monday, 24 March 2025, preventing both Bafana Bafana and Benin from accessing the stadium for pre-match training.
Broos is understandably upset as FIFA regulations entitle the visiting team to a one-hour training session at the match venue on the day before the game.
BROOS – ‘I’M REALLY NOT SATISFIED’
“First of all, I have to tell you that I’m really not satisfied with the decision that we can’t have a pre-match training in the stadium where the game takes place. I think this is a FIFA rule, that every team has the right to have a preliminary training before the game of 60 minutes in the stadium where you play, where the match takes place,” Broos said.
“I don’t understand. I understand it because there is another game. But this is bad when people who make the rules don’t follow the rules. Will that have an influence on the game? I don’t know.
“But I know if tomorrow after the game I’m not at the press conference, there will be a sanction. So we have to follow the rules. Where are the rules now? And you will tell me, yes, that’s for both teams. I don’t think so. I think Berlin has already trained in that stadium because they were here before us.
“So it’s all nice to say, follow the rules, follow this. We have to follow everything. But we have the right to train today in the stadium where the match takes place, and we can’t. And this is not honest and this is not correct.”
‘IT’S GOING TO BE A TOUGH ONE’
He added, “It’s going to be a tough one. Benin is a very good team, but we believe in our qualities, we believe in what we’ve been building over the last year,” he added.
“So we’re looking forward to the game. It’s going to be a tough one, a lot of challenges, but I think this team is strong enough to overcome all those challenges.
“It’s going to be a tough one, but we’re excited and we’re looking forward to it. We know how important and vital this game is for the group. We know that we can open up a gap and we know that a gap can be closed as well.
“So this is a big, big, big game in these qualifying rounds. It’s obviously the halfway mark now and after tomorrow you’ll have an idea as to who the favourites are in the group. So we want to be there and we want to stay on top of the group.”
